Warning: Spoilers ahead for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!Beetlejuice 2 references what happened to the Maitlands, revealing that the couple found a loophole to "move on" after Beetlejuice, but the film also has a special nod to the pivotal characters from 1988.

Beetlejuice 2 features Easter eggs in the town model of Winter River, showing little figures of Adam and Barbara in the opening credits sequence and their car upside down in the river by the covered bridge. Lydia's mention of Adam and Barbara no longer around includes a hint of sadness, indicating that their absence still affects her. Based on the original Beetlejuice's ending, it was clear how much Lydia bonded with Adam and Barbara while living in Winter River. That said, Adam and Barbara's time as ghosts in the original movie makes the sequel's timeline a bit confusing.

Beetlejuice 2 Ignores The Afterlife's Time Dilation From The 1988 Movie

Time Moved Much Differently In The First Beetlejuice Movie

Beetlejuice's afterlife, the Neitherworld, comes back into play for the sequel, with the main characters traversing the realm at different points in the movie. Of course, the Neitherworld was a major element of the original movie after Adam and Barbara visit the Neitherwold waiting room following their deaths. When they returned to their home hours later following their first trip to the afterlife, Adam and Barbara learned that they had been away for months based on Beetlejuice's time dilation. However, at the same time, dilation doesn't happen in Beetlejuice 2, indicating the sequel ignored afterlife details from the first movie.

Beetlejuice 2 doesn't imply that the bizarre time dilation is still in effect

The strange time dilation involving the afterlife was mentioned several times in Beetlejuice. Aside from the waiting room visit, Adam tried to leave the home but ended up on Saturn's moon with the sandworms. Despite only being there a few minutes, Adam had been missing for two hours. Based on how the original movie proved time moves strangely in connection to the afterlife, Beetlejuice 2 doesn't imply that the bizarre time dilation is still in effect. It's also not referenced to explain the loophole used by Adam and Barbara, considering they should've been stuck in the house for 125 years.

Beetlejuice 2's Ending Wedding Should Have Happened Way After Halloween

Lydia & Astrid Were In The Afterlife For A While

Beetlejuice 2's ending features the movie's big wedding sequence, playing on the near-marriage between Beetlejuice and Lydia in the original movie. Lydia is supposed to marry Rory on Halloween night as part of his next step in exploiting her. Taking into how much time Astrid and Lydia spend in the afterlife, there's no way the characters would've made it back to Winter River in time to make it to the wedding if the original time dilation was still the case.

Rescuing Astrid with the help of Richard seems to have taken more time than any trips seen to the Neitherworld in 1988's Beetlejuice. Therefore, they would've returned well after Halloween in the real world. The wedding sequence is very important to the third act, especially since it features Beetlejuice 2's "MacArthur Park" musical sequence. Ignoring the time dilation certainly avoids any roadblocks concerning the sequel's timeline, but it results in more questions involving the franchise's afterlife rules.