15 Fascinating Facts You Might Not Know about ‘Beetlejuice’

Thanks to its bonkers blend of comedy and horror, Beetlejuice became an instant hit with audiences when it was released on March 30, 1988—and even more so in the nearly 40 years since, as younger viewers have discovered it on television, DVD, and streaming.

The movie helped to establish Tim Burton, who made his feature directorial debut with Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985, as one of Hollywood’s most innovative new artists. But there were plenty of obstacles that came with bringing this ghost with the most to the big screen, as well as some stellar benefits to its success.

With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, its long-awaited sequel, slated to hit theaters on Friday, September 6, there has never been a better time to give this screwball ’80s classic a rewatch. Below, we’re looking back at some fun facts about the cult fave that started it all.

1. Early drafts of the script were far less whimsical.
2. An early draft offered a Maitland home for everyone.
3. Tim Burton wanted Warren Skaaren to bring some playfulness and music to the script.
4. Sammy Davis Jr. was Burton’s first choice for Beetlejuice.
5. It won an Oscar.
6. Anjelica Huston was very nearly Delia Deetz.
7. Geena Davis and Michael Keaton needed no convincing.
8. Lydia was a role lots of ingénues rejected.
9. Beetlejuice was nearly called “Scared Sheetless.”
10. Beetlejuice was named after a star.
11. “Day-O” played at Otho’s real-life funeral.
12. Beetlejuice is barely in his own movie.
13. Test audiences encouraged a happier ending for Beetlejuice.
14. Beetlejuice inspired an animated series.
15. It took them years to come up with a concept for a sequel.

Early drafts of the script were far less whimsical.

Screenwriter Michael McDowell’s original script was far darker than the final script, which was rewritten by screenwriters Larry Wilson and Warren Skaaren. Originally, it imagined Beetlejuice as a winged demon whose human form was that of a small Middle Eastern man, and his plan for the Deetzes was more about rape and murder than mischief and marriage. Also, the Maitlands’s car crash was far more gruesome.

An early draft offered a Maitland home for everyone.

The original ending of McDowell’s screenplay had Beetlejuice being destroyed by an exorcism and the Maitlands’s house shrinking down to the size of Adam’s model town. Instead of sharing their home with the Deetz family, they move into the model house and renovate it to look like their full-scale version did before the family arrived. Also, the Deetz parents move back to New York, leaving Lydia to be raised by the Maitlands in Connecticut.

Tim Burton wanted Warren Skaaren to bring some playfulness and music to the script.

Part of the rewrites by Warren Skaaren included specific music suggestions, like Lydia lip-syncing to Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” The final film substituted R&B songs for calypso music like Harry Belafonte’s hits “Day-O” and “Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora).”

Sammy Davis Jr. was Burton’s first choice for Beetlejuice.

Tim Burton reportedly wanted Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr.—who was 63 years old at the time—to play Beetlejuice. Producer David Geffen instead suggested actor Michael Keaton, who was ultimately chosen and would go on to appear in two other Burton films: Batman and Batman Returns.

It won an Oscar.

Makeup artists Ve Neill, Steve LaPorte, and Robert Short won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Anjelica Huston was very nearly Delia Deetz.

Anjelica Huston was originally cast to play Delia Deetz, but had to bow out due to an illness. Actress Catherine O’Hara initially declined Burton’s offer for the part, but accepted after Burton flew out to meet with her and personally convince her to take it. O’Hara met—and eventually married—production designer Bo Welch while working on Beetlejuice.

Geena Davis and Michael Keaton needed no convincing.

Both Geena Davis and Michael Keaton immediately signed on to the film after meeting with Burton, but the director allegedly had to beg Golden Age of Hollywood star Sylvia Sidney to play the afterlife detective, Juno. Sidney, who passed away in 1999, worked with Burton on her last film, the 1996 alien invasion comedy Mars Attacks!.

Lydia was a role lots of ingénues rejected.

Actresses Lori Loughlin, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Justine Bateman, Molly Ringwald, and Jennifer Connelly are among the young actresses who allegedly turned down the role of Lydia Deetz. Juliette Lewis auditioned, but Winona Ryder won the part once Burton saw her performance in the teen dramedy Lucas.

Beetlejuice was nearly called “Scared Sheetless.”

Warner Bros. executives didn’t like the name Beetlejuice and pushed to have it changed to House Ghosts. Burton jokingly suggested Scared Sheetless as an alternate name, and was appalled when Warner Bros. actually considered it.

Beetlejuice was named after a star.

Beetlejuice was named for Betelgeuse, a star in the constellation Orion. Some actually speculate it’s about to explode—or already has exploded—because its light has been dimming in recent years.

“Day-O” played at Otho’s real-life funeral.

Harry Belafonte’s song “Day-O,” which is in the film’s memorable song and dance number, was the final song played at the memorial for actor Glenn Shadix (who played Otho in the film), who passed away in 2010.

Beetlejuice is barely in his own movie.

Despite being the titular character, Beetlejuice actually appears in only 17.5 minutes of the 92-minute film. Calling the flick The Maitlands just wouldn’t have the same catchy ring to it, though.

Test audiences encouraged a happier ending for Beetlejuice.

Test audiences responded to Keaton’s green-haired ghoul so well that Burton’s team went back to create an upbeat epilogue that featured Beetlejuice hassling a sawed-in-half woman before being hexed by a witch doctor. An earlier draft had him stuck in the Maitlands’ model town and plagued by sandworms.

Beetlejuice inspired an animated series.

A cartoon spinoff of Beetlejuice ran for 94 episodes. The show completely reimagined the relationship between Lydia Deetz and the titular character, with Beetlejuice taking her on wild adventures in the “Neitherworld.” The Maitlands don’t exist in this spinoff, but Lydia got a cast of classmates as well as ghoulish friends like a skeleton bodybuilder and a tap-dancing spider.

It took them years to come up with a concept for a sequel.

The box office success of Beetlejuice inspired the development of a sequel in 1990 called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. However, Batman Returns became Burton’s priority at the time, and the sequel’s prospects went cold until 2011, when Warner Bros. hired Dark Shadows scribe Seth Grahame-Smith to produce a new take on Beetlejuice 2, with Keaton, Ryder, and Burton all in talks to become involved in the potential sequel.

But years passed and the project was only teased until December 2014, when the rumor mill started buzzing once again after Tim Burton told IGN: “There is a script, and I would love to work with again. I think there is now a better chance than ever … I miss that character. There’s something that’s cathartic and amazing about it. I think it’s closer than ever.”

In 2015, adding fuel to the excitement, Winona Ryder told Seth Meyers: “I think I can confirm it. It was very hush-hush top secret … but then was doing some press for Big Eyes and and he did an on-camera interview and he said, ‘Oh yeah, we’re doing it, and Winona’s going to be in it.’ ... If he said it, I can say it.”

As of late 2017, the project was at a bit of a standstill, but had just brought on a new writer to rework the script. Much like its title character, the project would eventually get resurrected, with writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough at the helm. The sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, includes some new characters (like Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega as adult Lydia’s angst-ridden teen daughter), and opened at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 28 to mostly positive reviews. It gets a widespread theatrical release in the U.S. on Friday, September 6.

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A version of this article was originally published in 2018 and has been updated for 2024.