WARNING! This article contains major SPOILERS for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2 confirmed Charles Deetz’s death prior to the movie, the promotional materials kept Delia Deetz’s death as a secret twist for the family’s complex dynamics.

The living of the Deetz family tree have dwindled significantly in the sequel, with Charles Deetz, Delia Deetz, and Richard, Lydia’s husband and Astrid’s father, all ing the afterlife. Though Charles and Richard died prior to the start of Beetlejuice 2, Delia dies unexpectedly while mourning the death of her husband in Winter River. Delia’s death twist leads to some hilarious scenes from Catherine O’Hara in the afterlife, though still begs questions about what her fate means for the Winter River house and a possible third movie.

Delia Deetz's Death In Beetlejuice 2 Explained

Delia Deetz Is Killed By Snakes In The Sequel

While Lydia and Astrid are already in the realm of the afterlife attempting to escape back to the real world, Delia Deetz takes two snakes to perform a ceremony at Charles’ grave. While Delia assured Astrid that the snakes were safe and de-fanged, it turned out that she was scammed by the people who sold it to her. When she brings out the snakes to Charles’ grave, both snakes bite Delia on the neck, instantly killing her and sending her to Beetlejuice’s iconic Neitherworld waiting room.

Delia’s death occurs during the third act, leading all three Deetz women to the afterlife while requiring Betelgeuse’s help to get them out. However, it isn’t until Beetlejuice 2’s main characters gather at the church in Winter River for Lydia and Rory’s wedding that Delia reveals her tragic fate. While Lydia and Astrid are shocked at Delia’s death, Astrid makes her grandmother feel better by revealing that the prices of her artwork will skyrocket after her demise.

Astrid and Beetlejuice from Beetlejuice 2 are in front of music notes.

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In Beetlejuice 2’s ending, Delia returns to the afterlife and searches for the ghost of Charles, who has been aimlessly wandering the realm throughout the movie. While Delia successfully locates Charles, she finds that her departed husband is without a head, as the top part of his body was eaten by the shark that killed him. Regardless, Delia and Charles happily reunite as they prepare to spend their afterlife together, with Lydia and Astrid making the most of their lives by touring the locations around the world that Astrid was never able to see with her deceased father, Richard.

Why Beetlejuice 2 Killed Off Both Delia & Charles Deetz

Lydia's Father & Stepmother Are Both In The Afterlife After Beetlejuice 2

Lydia, Charles, Delia, and Otho looking at the attic in Beetlejuice

Killing off one Deetz family member was already a shocking choice for Tim Burton’s sequel, yet he doubled down on the choice by killing off both Charles and Delia. Killing Charles seemed like an inevitability given Jeffrey Jones wasn’t returning for Beetlejuice 2, and it also gave the Deetz family a compelling, personal reason to return to Winter River and be involved in the conflicts of more recently deceased individuals. By returning to Winter River for Charles’ funeral, the movie could justify why it took so long for Betelgeuse to make direct with Lydia and the Deetzes again.

Making Delia a ghost gives the sequel a dead character who more complexly fulfills the heroic ghost roles played by the Maitlands in the original movie.

Delia’s death enhances the stakes of Beetlejuice 2’s deaths and afterlife storyline. Since Charles is missing his head and is unable to effectively communicate with and be involved in Beetlejuice 2’s story, making Delia a ghost gives the sequel a dead character who more complexly fulfills the heroic ghost roles played by the Maitlands in the original movie. Delia now gets to reunite with Charles and be happy in their afterlife, while also still having the ability to visit Lydia and Astrid as a ghost.

What Delia's Death Means For The Winter River House & Beetlejuice 3

Will Delia & Charles Haunt The Winter River House?

Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and Delia Deetz (Catherine O'Hara) playing a hand game against their will in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Both Charles and Delia Deetz have now ed the afterlife by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s ending, which leads to questions regarding where their souls will be sent next. While the ghost of Lydia’s husband and Astrid’s father Richard was kept in the realm of the afterlife instead of Earth, Barbara and Adam Maitland were sentenced to living the first 125 years of their death in their Winter River home. Therefore, it seems that Charles and Delia’s ghosts will either remain in the afterlife with Richard or be returned to Earth to haunt the house in Winter River.

Beetlejuice 2 reveals that Barbara and Adam Maitland are no longer haunting Winter River house because they found a "loophole" to move on.

Delia and Charles haunting the Winter River house would justify Lydia keeping the home rather than selling it, which Delia had intended to do prior to her death. Delia may not have loved the house, but Charles did, and the two can still remodel it however they please now that the Maitlands have “moved on” in Beetlejuice 2. If Delia and Charles’ ghosts do remain in Winter River, then the possibility remains for a potential Beetlejuice 3 movie to follow Lydia and Astrid returning to the house to visit their departed family .

Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice 2 with creepy hands over this shoulders

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While Burton doesn’t seem keen on another sequel, Beetlejuice 2 still gives the Deetzes a satisfying, open-ended conclusion that leaves plenty to wonder about their living and ghostly futures. With Lydia still being haunted by visions of Betelgeuse at the end of the 2024 movie, it’s safe to say that the “Juice is loose” after Beetlejuice 2.