This article contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
This article contains discussions of self-harm.
According to one of the co-writers of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Delia Deetz’s death was Catherine O’Hara’s idea. The sequel to the 1988 dark comedy film follows the Deetz family after the recent death of Charles (Jeffrey Jones), focusing on the adventures of Lydia (Winona Ryder) and her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who gets herself in trouble with a mischievous ghost. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has received positive reviews, sporting a 77% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and doubling the original film’s global box office run.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice co-writer Miles Millar discusses the death of Delia Deetz. Millar reveals that Delia’s death was O’Hara’s idea. Speaking about the character, the actor suggested that Delia should kill herself to join her late husband. Millar admits that it was a good idea, but they came to a compromise and killed the character with an accidental death.
That 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.” It’s a great idea, but 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. What’s a more creative, bizarre way that she could die? That was an accidental death. So we got to his idea of the asps, which we really loved.
Delia Killing Herself Would Have Harmed The Final Product
Her Accidental Death Works Better With The Tone Of The Movie
Instead of using O’Hara’s original idea of Delia killing herself, the creative team of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice instead killed her with snakes she believed were no longer venomous, but still were. When Delia performs a ceremony at Charles’ grave, the vipers bite her and send her to the afterlife. What follows is an entertaining arc that stays true to the character and comedic, albeit dark, tone of the film.
Having Delia die by suicide would have cast a thick and dark cloud over Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, possibly overshadowing the death of Charles.
Having Delia die by suicide would have cast a thick and dark cloud over Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, even with the death of Charles Deetz. Including suicide in comedy would be nearly impossible to pull off successfully. If Delia killed herself, the tone of the film would have changed drastically. Even if the movie is from Tim Burton, comedy after suicide is a nigh impossible endeavor.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is better off without Delia’s darker death. The tragic and grim nature of the act would have made its comedic tone almost unsalvageable. The compromise of still killing Delia but with an accidental death might have been the best choice, as the rest of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, after Delia’s death, including and especially that musical number, was still a darkly whimsical treat.
Source: THR
