The “Ghost with the Most” is back in Beetlejuice 2, and he’s just as ancient as ever while reuniting with the Deetz family for the first time in over 30 years. Originally described as having lived in all time periods but being of no time period, Beetlejuice 2 actually dives into Betelgeuse's death, life, and afterlife with more details than Tim Burton’s 1988 movie. The demonic “bio-exorcist” is still largely a mystery, but there’s now much more context to who he was in life and who he became in his long, long afterlife.
Betelgeuse’s age is one of the many mystical parts of Michael Keaton’s character, with his decayed appearance emphasizing just how long he’s spent six feet below. However, Betelgeuse’s age is never explicitly stated in Tim Burton’s 1988 original movie, leaving only general implications as to how long the returning Beetlejuice 2 character has been in the afterlife. Flashbacks to his life during the Black Plague add more specificity to how old Betelgeuse is, confirming he’s been making mischief for more than six centuries.
Betelgeuse Is Over 600 Years Old In The Beetlejuice Movies
Betelgeuse Dates Back To Before The Black Plague
In both Beetlejuice and Beetlejuice 2, Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse is technically over 600 years old. This is confirmed by the fact that Betelgeuse lived through the Black Plague, but was killed by his wife Delores in Spain during that era. In Spain, the Black Death persisted from approximately 1348 until 1350, which is about 640 years before Beetlejuice’s original timeline. Considering Betelgeuse was likely around 40 years old when he died, given Keaton was only in his late 30s when shooting the first movie, his character had already been around for about 680 years during Beetlejuice.
It was already uncomfortable to see a 680-year-old Betelgeuse try to marry 16-year-old Lydia in Beetlejuice, and it doesn’t get any easier to see 716-year-old Betelgeuse try to marry 50-year-old Lydia in Beetlejuice 2.
Tim Burton’s 2024 sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice arrives 36 years after the original movie. Therefore, tacking another 36 years onto his age from the 1988 horror-comedy, Betelgeuse is approximately 716 years old during Beetlejuice 2 – give or take a few years. It was already uncomfortable to see a 680-year-old Betelgeuse try to marry 16-year-old Lydia in Beetlejuice, and it doesn’t get any easier to see 716-year-old Betelgeuse try to marry 50-year-old Lydia in Beetlejuice 2.
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How Old Michael Keaton Is In Beetlejuice & Beetlejuice 2
Keaton's Age During Beetlejuice 2 Is Twice As Old As He Was In Beetlejuice
Betelgeuse’s iconic makeup, costumes, and voice may make Keaton look immortal, or at least the same level of decayed in both movies, but he’s tackling the titular character at very different ages himself. Michael Keaton was only 36 years old when filming Beetlejuice, which seems to be the age at which Betelgeuse originally died. Returning to the character 36 years later, Michael Keaton was 72 years old when filming Beetlejuice 2. Yet, it feels like not a single day has passed since Michael Keaton's titular ghost first terrorized the Deetz family members in 1988’s Beetlejuice.
Movie | Betelgeuse's Age | Michael Keaton's Age |
|---|---|---|
Beetlejuice (1988) | ~680 | 36 |
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) | ~716 | 72 |
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Tim Burton's Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular "bio-exorcist", an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
