SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, now in theaters.

It’s been 36 years since Michael Keaton’s vulgar demon first terrorized audiences in Tim Burton’s 1988 film Beetlejuice. but his legacy lives on. Especially now that the sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” is finally in theaters.

Keaton returns to reprise his role as the most ghostly ghost alongside original stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara in the wacky supernatural sequel. While other cast members from the first film, such as Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, are missing, the 2024 flick is packed with subtle and obvious nods to its predecessor.

Check out the best Easter eggs and references below.

“Day-O” by Harry Belafonte

One of the most iconic scenes from the first Beetlejuice film is the dinner party where the Maitlands get the Deetz family and their guests to sing Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O.” Of course, the song returns in the sequel – in a very different context. This time, a young choir sings a slowed-down gospel version of the tune at Charles’ funeral. The sequel gets its own larger-than-life musical number near the end, with Beetlejuice and the Deetz women performing a lively rendition of Richard Harris’ “Macarthur Park” at Lydia’s wedding.

Delia’s sculptures

Delia Deetz now runs an art gallery in the heart of Manhattan: it’s hip, cool and crazy, full of experimental art of all kinds. But she hasn’t forgotten her roots. Astrid’s boarding school now houses the Deetz Art Center, featuring a menagerie of Delia’s eccentric sculptures from the first film (including the wild claw-like sculpture she once pinned to the wall).

Haunted House

When audiences first see the grown-up Lydia Deetz, she is hosting her own paranormal investigation show called “Ghost House.” Not only is it a perfect name for the series, but it’s also a cheeky nod to the title of the 1988 film, had Warner Bros. gotten their way. “‘Ghost House’ was actually almost the name of the first film,” says screenwriter Al Gough diversity“They didn’t like ‘Beetlejuice.’ Tim really had to fight for it to be called ‘Beetlejuice.'”

Shrunken Head Boys

A broad-shouldered man with a tiny shrunken head first appears in the waiting room of Eitherworld at the end of the first film (and shrinks Beetlejuice’s head). In the sequel, Bob runs an office full of shrunken-head types in yellow suits, each wearing a red name tag. These name tags are actually nods to the film’s producers, from Brad (Pitt) to Al (Gough). “The editor did that after the fact,” Gough said diversity. “They told me about it at the premiere!” Those aren’t the only real names that made it into the film: Gough and co-writer Miles Millar named Lydia and Rory’s couples therapist “Dr. Glickman,” after their longtime friend and Miramax CEO Jon Glickman (who also produced Burton’s series “Wednesday”).

Miss Shannon’s School for Girls

Before Lydia floats up the stairs in her school uniform in Beetlejuice, she is seen leaving Miss Shannon’s girls’ school. The prestigious institution returns in the sequel when Astrid rides her bike past its sign after Charles’ funeral.

Opening shot

Both Beetlejuice and its sequel begin with the camera panning over Winter River, Connecticut, as the opening credits roll across the screen. Of course, the original film actually features the scale model of the town of Maitland, which reappears when Astrid discovers it in the Deetz family’s attic.

Handbook for the recently deceased

Barbara and Adam Maitland originally use the handbook to navigate their way through life as ghosts, and it plays a similarly key role in the sequel. Astrid first discovers the literature in Jeremy’s bedroom (and he didn’t get it from a thrift store like he claims). She is tricked into reading a spell from the book when she enters the afterlife, but later uses it to her advantage by using it to annul Beetlejuice’s marriage contract with Lydia.

Lydia’s wedding dress

Beetlejuice hasn’t given up on his dream of marrying Lydia. After she signs a contract agreeing to marry him in exchange for his help in rescuing Astrid from the afterlife, Beetlejuice hijacks her wedding to Rory and dresses her in a red wedding dress that looks very similar to the one from the first film.

Charles’ death

The latter is less of an Easter egg and more of an explanation. While Lydia’s father Charles is dead in the sequel, actor Jeffrey Jones is very much alive — but there’s a pretty good reason he’s not coming back for this film. Jones was charged in 2003 with soliciting a minor to pose for nude photos. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years of probation, counseling, and registration as a sex offender. He was arrested in 2004 and 2010 for failing to update his sex offender registration.

This means that the character Charles still appears in the 2024 film – first in an animated sequence showing his death (he survives a plane crash but is eaten by a shark), and later in the afterlife (headless). Gough says he and Millar found Charles’ death a creative way to incorporate the stop-motion animation that Burton has used in many projects: “We thought, ‘Oh, this is a great way to work that into the film and tell the backstory of Charles.’ The idea of ​​crashing and being eaten by a shark was Tim’s worst fear of death. So he thought, ‘Okay, the shark will just rip his head off and we’re good to go.'”