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Sony’s attempt in 2016 at rebooting the famed 1980’s “Ghostbusters” series having all-female leads bombed at the box-office and received harsh critical reviews. The studio is bringing “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” set in the original duology’s continuity.
The film is directed by Jason Reitman, the son of Ivan Reitman (who directed the 1984 and 1989 “Ghostbusters” films). The fourth “Ghostbusters” movie will be released in November 2021.
The teaser of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” was released over a year ago in December 2019. The teaser established that the story would follow Egon Spengler’s family. Sony also dropped an official trailer for the movie on July 27, showcasing further plot points on how Spengler’s grandchildren will deal with the mysterious returns of ghosts.
Here are all the Easter eggs in the official trailer for 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife', and theories about the upcoming film.
A homage to the original series:
In IGN’s breakdown of the trailer by Jason Reitman, the director mentioned,
“The franchise is synonymous with New York city, but we wanted to go...to the American waste...to farmland. We wanted to have a new color palette and a new idea.”
This is why the new film is set in the fictitious town of Summerville, Oklahoma. The trailer has several callbacks and references to honor the original series.
Callbacks to the ghosts from the “Ghostbusters (1984)” and “Ghostbusters II (1989)”:
A plethora of original ghosts are showcased in the new trailer. These include:
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
The “Stay Puft” man was introduced in the 1984 film as a host for the primary antagonist Gozer. However, in the sequel and the video games, the mascot was turned into a separate ghost.
In the trailer, the entity takes cues from 2009’s “Ghostbusters: Video Game” where Stay Puft was able to divide itself into several smaller marshmallow versions.
Terror Dogs
Originally introduced as hellhound-like monsters serving Gozer, these are dog-like creatures with big claws, bulky stature and glowing red eyes.
In the trailer, “Terror Dogs” shows up twice. However, it is not known if Gozer’s gatekeeper Zuul and Keymaster of Gozer, Vinz Clortho will be featured in the new movie.
Taxi Driver Zombie
In the original movie, a zombie taxi driver shows up. In “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” this zombie shows up in a diner.
Other than these, Jason Reitman also confirmed a new ghost named “Muncher” based on the “Slimer” from the first movie.
Ectomobile - “Ecto 1”
The biggest reference to the original series will be this iconic vehicle in pop-culture history, the “Ecto 1.” In the trailer, the hearse is revived by Trevor (played by Finn Wolfhard) and seems to have gotten some upgrades (like the RTV) by Egon Spengler over the years.
Theories about the plot of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”:
What was Egon Spengler doing in Summerville?
The new trailer features several shots of an abandoned mine of Shandor Mining Co. Ivo Shandor most likely owned the mine. The character was first referenced in the original movie while establishing the backstory of Gozer. It was said that Ivo founded a cult that worshiped Gozer and wanted to bring about the “end of the world".
Egon was likely to be investigating Shandor’s mine while residing in Summerville. Later in the trailer, several ghosts are seen escaping from the mine, which is expected to be the location of Gozer’s pyramid too.
Director Reitman also mentioned:
“We wanted the movie to unfold like a mystery.”
This sets up that Spengler’s grandchildren, Phoebe (played by McKenna Grace) and Trevor, will be finding out the purpose Egon was serving in Summerville.
How the ghosts escaped:
It is probable that Egon’s farmhouse also protected the containment devices ( Ecto-Containment System) for all the ghosts captured by “Ghostbusters”. With Spengler’s death, there would have been no one to take care of the containment system.
Furthermore, when his daughter Callie (played by Carrie Coon) and her children came to the farmhouse, they could have mistakenly aided in the ghosts’ escape.
Mr Grooberson’s (played by Paul Rudd) deal:
According to Reitman, Grooberson (played by Paul Rudd) is a seismologist who came to Summerville to investigate the mysterious tremors. As mentioned in the trailer, the town is not above any fault lines that would explain natural earthquakes.
In his IGN trailer breakdown, Jason Reitman also explained that Grooberson also teaches in the summer school where Phoebe goes. The trailer establishes that Grooberson is a fan of the “Ghostbusters” group.
Thus, it can be theorized that Grooberson is also a Gozer worshiper who turns into the antagonist who helps Gozer to return.
Gozer’s return:
Gozer, also known as “Gozer the Destructor” or “The Traveller”, is a Sumerian god who is a powerful evil entity with supernatural abilities.
In the original film, Gozer was played by Slavitza Jovan. Furthermore, the trailer also includes a glimpse of Phoebe being terrorized by a feminine supernatural entity, which could be Gozer.
Her return as the main antagonist could be the reason why the town of Summerville, Oklahoma will be menaced by several ghosts.
Ray Stanz’s return:
The last shot of the trailer included a man picking up the phone at “Ray’s Occult Books”. The bookshop is owned by Dr. Ray Stanz (played by Dan Aykroyd), who was one of the original members of “Ghostbusters”. Jason Reitman confirmed Dan’s return.
Compared to 2016’s “Ghostbusters” film, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is expected to carry more punch. The new movie, written by Jason Reitman, Gil Kenan, and actor Dan Aykroyd, is expected to establish a further continuation of the franchise.
