Why Alec Baldwin isn’t in Beetlejuice 2 as director reveals reason he and Geena Davis were cut from sequel

As with many legacy sequels, not everyone has returned for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a sequel coming out 36 years after the original.

Alec Baldwin, who was one of the stars of the first film, is one of two major actors to not be returning.

Alongside his in-movie-wife Geena Davis, the pair played ghosts Adam and Barbara Maitland.

With the sequel coming out this week, many fans were questioning why the pair had not returned.

Though many pointed to Baldwin’s involvement in the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust, director Tim Burton gave another reason.

Burton said: “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."

The director told People Magazine that not only did he not want to include the pair in order to tick a box from the original, his focus for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was primarily around the passage of time.

He went on to say: “A sequel like this, it really had to do with the time.

“That was my hook into it, the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter. And that would be the nucleus of it. I couldn't have made this personally back in 1989 or whatever.”

Jenna Ortega in the Beetlejuice sequel. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

The titular Beetlejuice Michael Keaton also told People that over the years he and Tim Burton had various conversations about revisiting the ghostly story.

He said: “We thought, ‘You got to get this right.' I was hesitant and cautious, and he was probably equally as hesitant and cautious.

“Once we got there, I said, ‘OK, let's just go for it.’”

Geena Davis was first to confirm she would not be returning, telling Entertainment Weekly: “I’m not in the remake. Oh, you were expecting that I would be? Yeah, no, you know what? Because my theory is that ghosts don’t age … Not that I have!”

Baldwin and Geena Davis as The Maitlands. (Warner Brothers)

In the film, the explanation given is simply that the pair found a ‘loophole’ which allowed them to move on.

The sequel has been a massive hit, with the addition of Jenna Ortega to the cast immediately bearing fruit.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, though featuring a far higher budget, has already outearned the first film’s entire run in its opening weekend.

Add to this a 7.2 on IMDb and a 76 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and you can probably expect a third sooner rather than later if they can afford to bring the cast back.

Regardless, I wouldn’t be expecting Baldwin to make an appearance.