First, I want to say that I know it has been a long while since I have last posted, and I was in the middle of my Sailor Moon: Live Action Dream Cast. I'm going to put that project on hold for a moment until I can finish my research and look into more currently young actors.
Why a Third Beetlejuice Movie?
In 2024, Tim Burton released the much-waited-for sequel to Beetlejuice. I found it cute, interesting, and nostalgic, but I felt like it did not live up to the legacy the first movie created.
One of the main things that bothered me about the sequel was that the Maitlands where nowhere to be found. I understand that the producers and the actors (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) felt like it would be hard to explain why they had aged as ghosts, but I think I may have found a work around, and it is all thanks to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Let's open the third movie in a dark but fancy penthouse in New York where we see Jamie Campbell Bower playing a new character named Drake Norris and his wife Mina Funai, played by Naomi J. Ogawa. They are laughing while watching the news of their latest heist and kills. Zoom into the news channel, and zoom back out to see an elderly couple watching the same news channel in a rustic, cozy living room. The two quickly look at each other in horror, revealing Barbara and Adam Maitland (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) â cut to the opening credits.
After the credits, you see Lydia waking up from another "Beetlejuice baby" nightmare. Astrid is knocking on the door to tell her mom that she is off for school. Lydia watches Astrid leave the house from her bedroom window, and then sits to contemplate what the dream means. After a moment, a rapid knock on the door. Lydia goes downstairs, opens the door and sees the Maitlands standing in front of her. Adam pushes his way into the house and paces, much like he would do in the first movie, while Barbara enters more politely while wringing her fingers. Lydia is surprised to see them at her house, but not alive. Barbara tells Lydia, "We may have a problem."
Scene cuts to Astrid at her new private school in town, wearing the same school uniform that Lydia used to wear, just more modern. The school is no longer just for girls, it is now co-ed. After a brief look into her school life, she is called to the front office to get picked up early from school by her mom. Confused, she asks Lydia why she is here, and Lydia says they can talk about it in the car. Lydia and Astrid get in the car and in the backseat are the Maitlands.
When introduced, Astrid says, "They look so much older than I expected." That's when Lydia explains that the soul swap incident that Astrid experienced a year earlier, was not the first time Lydia had experience with it.
The Maitlands had actually used the same process almost 30 years ago. They had found a criminal couple that was on the run after escaping their sentence of death. When Lydia found them, they told her that they wanted to die on their terms and together, and the Maitland's new caseworker after Juno, let's name him Norman, was new to the job and decided they could switch places. Don't worry about Norman, he was removed from the position very quickly after the soul swap. Everything was fine until the Maitland's saw them on the news and realized they were back.
We introduce Nico Parker as Madison O'Hara and Dylan Kingwell as Logan Priestly, who are around Astrid's age, growing up in the foster system together, and running away from their latest home. They were tricked into soul swapping with Drake and Mina. These teenagers have newly entered the waiting room, as confused as Barbara and Adam were when they first got there. They sit next to Beetlejuice who is still waiting in the waiting room, but his head is back to normal. Madison asks where they are, and Beetlejuice scoffs and moves seats. When Madison and Logan are called to the counter, they are told they are dead. Logan starts to panic and say something like, "No, no, that can't be. They promised... why did we switch?" Beetlejuice overhears them and drags them away from the window.
Beetlejuice explains to the teenagers that they can't go around telling people they are part of a soul swap. It's against the code of the dead, and it could come back to bite them in the butts later. Instead, they should stick with him and he will be able to help them out.
What I want to see happen in this movie is that Lydia realizes that through all her years of what she thought was the fear of Beetlejuice was actually the fear of letting him in. She didn't want that type of chaos in her life, but she starts to realize that beyond the chaos, he had been extremely protective and helpful towards her. Yes, he had the end goal of getting married and becoming human again, but what would he get out of becoming human again?
He wouldn't have his powers as a human, he would be out of touch with the technology, and he wouldn't know anyone except for the person he marries. Lydia realizes that it has only been her that he had been trying to marry for all those years and realizes that there may be something there. As the movie progresses, the baby Beetlejuice transitions from a monster into a normal baby just needing love. This shows how Lydia's heart is starting to open up to Beetlejuice. This way we can get more humor out of Beetlejuice, while we see his character lighten up a little. By the middle of the movie, maybe Lydia agrees to finally marry him, giving him his wish to become human again.
Before turning human Beetlejuice has been teaching Madison and Logan how to survive the Neitherworld, almost like a father figure. Beetlejuice doesn't have a heart per say, but he does have a 'Code.' Seeing these two kids tricked the way he was tricked by Delores centuries ago finally makes him do something selfless. We can have Astrid summon Madison and Logan on the behest of Beetlejuice, and when those two try to leave the house, they are sent to Saturn, but Beetlejuice is the one that pulls them both back into the house. After Beetlejuice turns human, he warns Astrid not to try to use the sandworm on him, because he does not want to spend eternity cut up into a million little pieces.
Throughout the movie, Drake and Mina are going on a killing rampage but alluding the police and not being captured, mixed in with Barbara, Adam, Astrid, and Lydia with the help of Beetlejuice trying to trick this evil couple in meeting up with them.
I want the weight of their murder spree to weigh heavily on Barbara and Adam, after all, they are the reason these serial killers even know about the soul swap. By the end of the movie, Drake and Mina come to kill Lydia and the Maitland's because they are the ones that have been trying to capture them and return them to the Neitherworld. By the time these two catch up with Lydia, Beetlejuice is already human and in turn sacrifices himself to save Lydia. While he's dying, he tells Astrid "Now, you can call it." And that's when Astrid summons the sandworm, which eats Drake and Mina.
With the killers gone, Barbara and Adam are left alive looking at Madison and Logan who are left dead. They turn around to Lydia and say that it is their time to fix their mistake. They have lived well longer than they were meant to. Barbara and Adam decide to soul swap with Madison and Logan to give them their lives back. After the swap, you see Lydia packing three lunches while Astrid, Madison, and Logan come running down the stairs in their school uniforms.
Bonus Ending Credit Scene
Beetlejuice (looking like his new human self) sitting in the waiting room playing with his wedding band. He ends with saying, "Well, that was fun while it lasted."
