Director Tim Burton recently shared the reasoning behind not bringing back the actors who played Adam and Barbara Maitland, the spectral couple from the original 1988 film, for the highly anticipated sequel set to hit theaters on September 6. Burton explained to People magazine that he didn’t want to simply check off boxes by including them. “Even though they were such an essential part of the first film, my focus was on exploring new elements,” he elaborated.

In the original movie, the newly deceased couple sought the assistance of the titular ghoul, Beetlejuice (portrayed by Michael Keaton), to scare away the intrusive yuppie family that had moved into their home post-mortem. However, chaos ensued when the family’s goth-obsessed teenager, Lydia Deetz (played by Winona Ryder), encountered the mischievous spirit, turning their Connecticut house into a battleground of supernatural antics.

Burton emphasized that the timing and generational aspect played a crucial role in shaping the sequel. “A sequel like this needed to resonate with the era,” he explained. “My hook was to focus on three generations—mother, daughter, and granddaughter—as the core of the story. This was something I couldn’t have envisioned making back in 1989 or earlier.”

In “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” Lydia returns home with her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and her boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) after the death of her father Charles (originally played by Jeffrey Jones). The funeral serves as a reunion for Lydia and her stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara reprising her role), setting the stage for Beetlejuice’s return to unleash chaos once more.

The sequel also delves into how Adam and Barbara, who were previously confined to haunting their former home, discovered a “loophole” that allows them to leave their spectral confines.

Geena Davis, currently starring in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut “Blink Twice,” provided insight into why these ghostly characters do not reappear in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in April, Davis explained, “No, I’m not in the remake. Oh, you thought I would be? Well, my theory is that ghosts don’t age… Not that I have.”

She further added, “Our characters were eternally stuck in the appearance they had when they died, so it’s been quite a long time.”

This fresh take on the sequel aims to blend nostalgia with new narrative threads, focusing on family dynamics across generations while bringing back familiar faces and introducing new ones to continue the legacy of chaos and comedy that made the original film a cult classic.