SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” in theaters now.

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

Keaton returns to reprise his role as the most haunted ghost, along with original stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, in the twisted supernatural sequel. While fellow cast members from the first film, like Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, are absent, the 2024 film is full of both subtle and overt nods to its predecessor.

Check out the best easter eggs and references below.

Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O”

One of the most iconic scenes from the first “Beetlejuice” is the dinner party where the Maitlands commandeer the Deetz family and their guests to sing Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O.” Naturally, the song returns in the sequel — in a very different context. This time, a young choir sings a slowed-down gospel version of the song at Charles’ funeral. The sequel gets its own larger-than-life musical number just before the finale, with Beetlejuice and the Deetz women delivering 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 weird, filled with all sorts of experimental art. But she hasn’t forgotten her roots. Astrid’s boarding school is now home to the Deetz Art Center, which features a menagerie of Delia’s eccentric sculptures from the first film (including that wild, claw-like statue that once pinned her to the wall).

Haunted House

When the audience first sees an adult Lydia Deetz, she’s hosting her own paranormal investigation show called “Ghost House.” While it’s a perfect name for the series, it’s also a cheeky reference to what could have been the title of the 1988 film, if Warner Bros. had had their way. “‘Ghost House’ was actually almost the name of the first movie,” says screenwriter Al Gough Variety“They didn’t like ‘Beetlejuice.’ Tim really had to fight to call it ‘Beetlejuice.'”

Shrunken head boys

A broad-shouldered man with a small shrunken head first appears in the neitherworld waiting room (and shrinks Beetlejuice’s head) at the end of the first film. In the sequel, Bob presides over an office full of yellow-clad, shrunken men, all of whom wear red name tags. Those name tags are actually references to the film’s producers, from Brad (Pitt) to Al (Gough). “The editor did that in post-production,” Gough said. Variety. “They told me at the premiere!” Those aren’t the only real names in the film: Gough and co-writer Miles Millar named Lydia and Rory’s relationship therapist “Dr. Glickman,” after their longtime friend and Miramax CEO Jon Glickman (who also produced Burton’s “Wednesday” series).

Miss Shannon’s Girls’ School

Before Lydia floats up the stairs in her school uniform in “Beetlejuice,” she’s seen leaving Miss Shannon’s School for Girls. The revered institution makes a comeback in the sequel, as Astrid rides her bike past the sign after Charles’ funeral.

Opening shot

Both “Beetlejuice” and its sequel open with the camera panning over Winter River, Conn. as the opening credits flash across the screen. Of course, the original film actually features the Maitlands’ scale model of the town, which returns 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 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, as he claims). She is tricked into reading an incantation from the book while entering 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 the marriage in exchange for his help in saving Astrid from the afterlife, Beetlejuice hijacks her wedding to Rory and dresses her in a red wedding dress that looks an awful lot like the one in the first film.

The Death of Charles

This last one 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 still alive — but there’s a good reason he’s not back for this film. Jones was charged in 2003 with soliciting a minor to pose for nude photographs. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years’ probation, counseling, and a sex offender registration. He was arrested in 2004 and 2010 for failing to update his sex offender registration.

That being said, the character Charles still appears in the 2024 film — first in an animated sequence depicting his death (he survives a plane crash, only to be eaten by a shark), and later in the afterlife (sans head). Gough says he and Millar found Charles’ death a creative way to incorporate the stop-motion animation Burton has used in many of his projects: “We thought, ‘Oh, this is a great way to work that into the film and tell Charles’ backstory.’ The idea of ​​crashing and being eaten by a shark was Tim’s own worst fear of death. So he thought, ‘OK, the shark will just take his head off and we’ll go racing.'”