WARNING! This article contains major SPOILERS for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)!
This article contains mentions of suicide.
Delia Deetz’s death would have looked very different and far more divisive in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had Tim Burton used actress Catherine O’Hara’s original idea for the iconic character’s tragic fate. Catherine O’Hara was among the few returning cast members in Beetlejuice 2, having portrayed the lovably neurotic New York City sculptor Delia Deetz in Burton’s 1988 Beetlejuice movie. In the sequel, Delia returns to Winter River alongside Winona Ryder’s Lydia and Jenna Ortega’s newcomer Astrid following the unexpected death of her husband Charles Deetz, with her unique grieving process including a tragic accident that culminates in her own demise.
During Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s third act, Delia Deetz dies when performing a grieving ritual at Charles’ grave involving two asps. Though she had assured Astrid that the snakes she purchased were de-fanged, Delia quickly discovered that wasn’t the case when both snakes lunged at her neck, bit down, and fatally poisoned her. Delia was thus sent to the afterlife and reunited with Charles’ ghost in Beetlejuice 2’s ending, giving the couple a tragic yet fitting fate. However, O’Hara’s early idea for Delia’s demise would have been far darker than an accidental snake bite.
Catherine O’Hara Originally Wanted Delia Deetz To Die By Suicide In Beetlejuice 2
Delia Was Ultimately Killed During An Accident With Snakes
According to screenwriter Miles Millar, Catherine O’Hara’s pitch for Delia’s death in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice involved the iconic character dying by suicide. It was actually O’Hara’s idea to have Delia die in the first place, and while this suggestion was utilized in the movie, her suggestion of having Delia go down a much darker route didn’t make it into the 2024 sequel. Millar revealed that the actress proposed Delia should die by suicide after Charles Deetz’s death due to her undying love for her husband, with her self-sacrifice being the “ultimate” thing she could do for him:
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[Delia’s death] was actually Catherine’s idea. We were talking about her character, and she said, “I think she should commit suicide just because she’s so in love with Charles. The ultimate thing she can do is to join him in the afterlife.”
O’Hara’s idea would have given Charles and Delia a darker Romeo and Juliet-style tragedy, but the creative team opted to go in another direction. Millar elaborated that, while Delia dying was a great twist, “It felt like a weird well to go down in a comedy to have a main character commit suicide toward the end of the movie.” Instead, they brainstormed some creative and “bizarre” ways for Delia to die that would be by accident, eventually settling on the idea for her to be fatally bitten by asps. This way, Beetlejuice’s Deetz family members still reunite in the afterlife.
Delia’s Snake Bite Death Was Perfect For Beetlejuice 2’s Themes & Tone
Delia’s Accidental Death Fits The Sequel’s Bizarre Tragedies
Delia dying may have come as a shock given how risky it was to kill off two major original Beetlejuice characters, but the execution of her fate was brilliantly crafted for the bizarre sequel. Delia’s grief process involved some unusual and artistically-inspired projects and ceremonies, which worried her family members, but only to the point where they thought it was just Delia being her eccentric self. Delia is very careful about protecting herself, her image, and her success, so Lydia and Astrid weren’t worried that she would bring any severe harm or danger onto herself in Beetlejuice.
Therefore, Delia dying on accident by snakebites, no less, perfectly fits the bizarre and unexpected nature of her story, as well as Beetlejuice 2’s wacky yet dark comedic tone. Delia was attacked by her own sculptures, which she herself deemed dangerous, in Beetlejuice’s original ending, and she’s now ironically attacked by props in her own grief ritual in the sequel. This demise fits with the many instances of the Deetzes’ misguided trust landing them in tragic situations, including the asps turning on Delia, Jeremy’s dark plan for Astrid, and Rory’s twisted motives with Lydia.
Delia’s Alternate Death Would Have Betrayed The Meaning Behind Beetlejuice’s Original Ending
Delia’s Death Would Have Given Mixed Messaging
In addition to departing from the tone of Beetlejuice 2, Delia dying by suicide after Charles’ death would have betrayed the themes from the 1988 Beetlejuice movie’s ending. In Tim Burton’s original film, goth teenager Lydia Deetz had suicidal ideations, even writing a suicide note at one point and telling the Maitlands that she wanted to die in order to be a ghost with them. Lydia also informed Betelgeuse of her desire to die, which led him to sincerely inquire why she thinks death is the better option in a moment that departed from his typically crass and cynical demeanor.
If Delia then turned around in
Beetlejuice 2
and died by suicide to join Charles in the afterlife, the work accomplished by the 1988 movie’s messages for Lydia would be undone.
By Beetlejuice’s ending, Barbara and Adam help convince Lydia that life is worth living, ensuring that they’ll always be there for her but want to see her grow up and experience all that her future has to offer. Lydia is then more social at school, strives to get better grades, and is living happily with both the Maitlands and her parents at the Winter River house. If Delia then turned around in Beetlejuice 2 and died by suicide to join Charles in the afterlife, the work accomplished by the 1988 movie’s messages for Lydia would be undone.
A newspaper article read by Betelgeuse in
Beetlejuice 2
reports that some deaths have been falsely labeled as suicides in the afterlife. This is why Betelgeuse and Richard work as civil servants despite being murdered and killed in a tragic boating accident, respectively.
Furthermore, Delia dying by suicide wouldn’t make any sense given what Otho revealed about that fate in the original movie. Beetlejuice explained that those who die by suicide become civil servants in the afterlife, forced to work in the Neitherworld’s bureaucracy for eternity. Delia gasped at the idea of this in the 1988 film, so she would never willingly subject herself to such a fate in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Not only would it keep her from being with Charles, who died in a tragic accident, but Delia would be miserable working in a bureaucracy for her entire afterlife.
