While the likes of Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton returned for the Beetlejuice sequel, actor Jeffrey Jones did not reprise his role as Charles Deetz and here’s the reason why

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has landed in cinemas and proved to be an instant hit with film fans. The highly anticipated sequel to the 1988 Tim Burton classic has certainly lived up to expectations.

Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara have reprised their roles from the first film as Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice), Lydia Deetz and Delia Deetz respectively. Joining them are new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe.

Missing from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is Jeffrey Jones, 77, who portrayed Charles Deetz – father to Lydia – in the original film. He has not spoken publicly about not being involved in the film.

However, Charles’ career changed after his arrest in 2002. The following year, he pleaded no contest to charges of possession of child pornography. Jones was sentenced to five years probation, counselling and informed that he must register himself as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

At the time, the actor 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.”

In 2004 and 2010, he was arrested for failing to update with status as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty and received a further 250 hours of community service as well as extra years of probation. However, Jones has still appeared in films since, suich as Deadwood: The Movie in 2019 and My Brothers’ Crossing in 2020.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice begins with the Deetz family mourning the death of Jones’ character Charles at his funeral. Delia explains to Astrid that Charles was in a plane crash and decapitated by a shark. A stop-motion animation then depicts what happened to Charles. The character does appear, but he’s a headless body, portrayed by an uncredited actor.

Fans have praised the way the character was written out of Beetlejuice, with one person writing on social media: “the way beetlejuice beetlejuice addresses the death of charles and absence of jeffrey jones is nothing short of sheer perfection tbh,” while a second said: “the way beetlejuice 2 handles the jeffrey jones character is so good.”

Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin also do not appear in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Speaking of their absence, creator Tim Burton told People: “I think the thing was for me I didn’t want to just tick any boxes. So even though they were such an amazing integral part of the first one, I was focusing on something else.”