Beetlejuice fans have been left horrified after learning the disturbing reason why the dad isn’t in the new movie.
Since its announcement, Tim Burton’s hugely anticipated Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, has been the subject of online discussion.
After more than 36 years away, it’s a return to an iconic story.
The sequel stars Jenna Ortega, with Michael Keaton back as the titular ghost, and Winona Ryder returning as Lydia Deetz, who is now a mother to Ortega’s character.
Catherine O’Hara also returns, with Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci joining the franchise.
But one actor is missing from the lineup, and now fans are discovering the dark reason why.
The first film, released in 1988, remains a comedy-horror classic.
It follows the ghosts of a married couple who try to drive out a family who has moved into their home.
Following its release, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and earned $80 million on a $15 million budget, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The sequel hit cinema screens on September 6 and has been subject to intense press coverage.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ortega described it as an ‘insane experience’ to work with Burton.
She told the publication: “I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with an iconic director who just so happens to be one of the sweetest directors I’ve worked with, and also the most detail-oriented.”
On SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Keaton said: “Tim and I would talk over the years about would we ever do it, and if we did it how would we do it.
“It’s just so fun and I’ve seen it now. I’m going to see it again after a couple of little tweaks in the editing room, and I confidently say this thing is great.
“It’s like a piece of art, you know what I mean? It’s almost like you want to take it and put it in a museum. There’s just nothing like it.
“To do it again was a little, I guess intimidating, and I was nervous about it.”
Following the film’s release, many fans of the original noticed that Jeffrey Jones, who plays the dad Charles Deetz in the original movie, had not returned.
On social media, one person said: “I was convinced that he had died, and I even remembered him fondly for his role in Howard the Duck, only to discover the truth today!”
Before the sequel dropped, Jones’ representative confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the 77-year-old actor does not appear in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
He followed his Beetlejuice stint with performances in other Tim Burton classics, including 1994’s Ed Wood and 1999’s Sleepy Hollow.
Jones is known for playing Emperor Joseph II in 1984’s Amadeus and Ed Rooney, the principal in 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
But Jones has been largely out of work since his 2003 arrest.
In 2003, Jones pleaded no contest to charges of possession of child p***ography over his alleged hiring of a 14-year-old boy to pose for indecent images.
As reported by Entertainment News Weekly at the time, the actor was sentenced to five years probation, counseling, and ordered to register as a s** offender for the rest of his life.
Following the sentencing, Jones reportedly said: “This concludes a really painful chapter in my life. I am sorry that this incident was allowed to occur. Such an event has never happened before and it will never happen again.”
BBC News reports that in Florida in 2004 and California in 2010, the actor was arrested for failing to update his s** offender status.
After he pleaded to the latter charge, his sentence included hours of community service and additional years of probation, as reported by CBS News.
While Jones doesn’t reprise his role in the Beetlejuice sequel, his character’s gravestone is visible in the movie’s trailer and a backstory is provided in the actual film.