After it ultimately went unaddressed in the 1988 original movie, one question that Adam and Barbara Maitland had about the afterlife was finally answered inBeetlejuice 2. Putting the ghosts in the same boat as the audience, Adam and Barbara were completely confused by the inner workings ofBeetlejuice’s afterlife and its rulesfollowing their deaths. When Adam first reads theHandbook for the Recently Deceased, he remarked that it “reads like stereo instructions,” meaningthe couple had to figure out their new afterlife predicament largely on their own.
Many aspects of the functions and processes of the afterlife remained a mystery afterBeetlejuice’s 1988 ending, butBeetlejuice 2thankfully arrived 36 years later to clear up a few details. While Adam and Barbara don’t appear inBeetlejuice 2’s cast of characters, there are various other new and returning dead figures who help explore more of the afterlife, such as Betelgeuse, Wolf Jackson, Delia and Charles Deetz, and Jeremy. Through their sequel stories,Beetlejuice 2solves some mysteries posed by Adam and Barbara that weren’t solved in their copy of theHandbook for the Recently Deceased.
Beetlejuice 2 Confirms That Heaven & Hell Exist In The Afterlife
Jeremy’s Fate & The Stops On The Soul Train Answer Barbara & Adam’s Question
One of the first questions that Barbara and Adam ask each other after dying inBeetlejuiceis where exactly they are and why.Barbara questions whether they’re in some sort of purgatory, possibly being halfway to heaven or halfway to hell. Adam responds that the book doesn’t have any information about heaven or hell, so they have no idea where they are or where they’ll end up after their 125 years in the Winter River house are up. However,Beetlejuice 2finally offers an answer to Barbara’s question, as the sequel confirms that heaven and hell do exist.
The four stops onBeetlejuice 2’s Soul Train are “The Great Beyond,” “Pearly Gates,” “Fires of Damnation,” and “Elysium Fields.”
Beetlejuice 2introduces the concept of the Soul Train, which takes the deceased to various stops in their afterlife.Two of the Soul Train’s stops are “The Great Beyond” and “Pearly Gates,”the latter of which refers to the nickname given to the entrance to heaven. Meanwhile, Betelgeuse eventually condemnsBeetlejuice 2’s murderous ghost Jeremyto a brutal fate in which he falls into the"Fires of Damnation," which isBeetlejuice’s version of hell. Therefore, it seems Barbara and Adam were awaiting their ultimate fates in the afterlife while in the Winter River house.
Beetlejuice 2 Still Doesn’t Explain Where Adam & Barbara “Moved On” To
Did They Go To The Great Beyond Or The Pearly Gates?
WhileBeetlejuice 2reveals that some versions of heaven and hell do exist in the Tim Burton franchise, the sequel doesn’t confirm exactly where Adam and Barbara ended up. Lydia explains inBeetlejuice 2that Adam and Barbara “moved on”afterfinding a loophole to get out of their 125-year sentence in the Winter River house, but their fate is vague. Clearly, Adam and Barbara weren’t anywhere close to vile enough to be sent to this afterlife’s hell, but there’s no indication of which fate they chose after leaving the attic.
I’m Relieved That Tim Burton Canceled Beetlejuice 2’s Missing Original Character Cameo Plans
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s ending was originally going to bring back two missing original characters, but I’m glad that Tim Burton decided against it.
Since Adam and Barbara found a loophole, it’s possible that their choice to “move on” simply allowed them to maintain their places in the afterlife without any geographical constraints. However, it’smore likely that they opted to eternally “move on” to either the Great Beyond or the Pearly Gates, depending on where they wanted their spirits to remain. Considering these are the most probable options, there isn’t much room for Adam or Barbara’s spirits to ever return if another film is made afterBeetlejuice 2.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
