Beetlejuice 2 Still Has 1 Missing Living Character From The Original Movie That It Can’t Ignore

Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2 has already announced that a few characters from the original movie’s land of the living will return for the sequel, but there’s one important figure in this category who is still missing. Arriving after a 36-year gap, the upcoming 2024 movie Beetlejuice 2 continues the story of Winona Ryder’s Lydia, the Deetz family, and Michael Keaton’s titular ghostly character. Like the original film, it appears that the characters of Beetlejuice 2 will be split fairly evenly between those who are still alive and those who are already in the afterlife, with plenty of new and returning figures joining the exciting cast.

The only characters confirmed to return for Beetlejuice 2 are Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz, Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice, and Catherine O’Hara’s Delia Deetz. After much speculation, Beetlejuice 2’s trailer confirmed the death of Charles Deetz, with actor Jeffrey Jones being uninvolved in the sequel. Furthermore, original Beetlejuice actress Geena Davis confirmed that she will not be reprising her role as Barbara Maitland, who died in the 1988 movie’s opening sequence, suggesting that Alec Baldwin’s Adam Maitland will also be absent. Still, not all the significant original characters have been accounted for in Beetlejuice 2’s cast, including one living figure who could easily fit into the sequel’s story.

Beetlejuice 2’s Return To Winter River Needs To Include The Original Character Jane Butterfield

Winter River realtor Jane Butterfield needs to come back for Beetlejuice 2

A return to Winter River isn’t complete without the presence of Jane Butterfield, the only named townsperson who recurs in Beetlejuice’s original movie. Jane appears even before the members of the Deetz family in Beetlejuice, as she attempts to persuade Adam and Barbara to sell their home prior to the couple’s untimely deaths. After the Maitlands die, they continue to see Jane as she attends their funeral and helps the Deetz family move into the couple’s house on the hill, with a deleted scene from Beetlejuice’s alternate ending also seeing Jane then try to convince Delia and Charles to put the home on the market.

Played by Annie McEnroe in Tim Burton’s 1988 horror-comedy, Jane Butterfield would be the most logical original character from the land of the living to bring back for Beetlejuice 2’s story. The first trailer for Beetlejuice 2 confirms that Winter River has hardly changed since the original film, which suggests that Jane or her daughter would still be the town’s most prominent realtors. Having had such a personal interest in the Maitland/Deetz home throughout the 1988 movie, it would seem as if an element of the franchise were missing if Beetlejuice 2 were to leave Jane out of the return to Winter River.

Jane Would Fit Perfectly Into The Deetz Family’s Beetlejuice 2 Return

Jane could serve the same role as she did in the original movie

Furthermore, bringing back Jane Butterfield wouldn’t be difficult given the context of the Deetz family’s Winter River return in Beetlejuice 2. Lydia and Delia return to town for Charles’ funeral, which appears to be limited in attendance based on the trailer’s teases. Jane wouldn’t be afraid to insert herself in such a situation, so it’s possible that she could attend the funeral as well, having lived in the same town with the Deetzes for over three decades. Additionally, following Charles’ death, it would be fitting for Jane, or potentially now Jane’s grown-up daughter, to attempt to persuade Lydia and Delia to sell the Winter River house.