'Ghostbusters': All the Callbacks, Cameos, and Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed
From the beginning, director Paul Feig has insisted his female-fronted Ghostbusters existed in an alternate universe where the events of the original 1984 bro-powered blockbuster never happened. No Keymaster. No streams crossed. No Stay Puft Marshmallow Man laying waste to the Upper West Side. But that doesn’t mean the new Ghostbusters ignores its predecessor. Feig has stuffed his film, arriving in theaters this weekend, with callbacks, cameos, and Easter eggs that fully embrace the Ivan Reitman-helmed classic. We’ve assembled a viewer’s guide to the most notable homages to watch out for; be warned, however: there are spoilers galore below, so bookmark this page for repeat trips to the cineplex.
The OG Ghostbusters
We knew that all the surviving stars from the 1984 film save Rick “Keymaster” Moranis were going to appear in the new version; what we didn’t know was how Feig and cohorts would also pay tribute to the late Harold Ramis. Ramis, who co-wrote the original with Dan Aykroyd and played the team’s tech whiz Egon Spengler, died in 2014 at age 69. But he gets lots of love in Ghostbusters. The film is dedicated to him. His son Daniel appears in a concert scene, billed as “Metal Head,” per IMDb. And best of all, he even gets some face time. When Columbia Dean Harold Filmore (Charles Dance) pays a visit to Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) reminding her that her big tenure review is coming up, the camera lingers on a bust in the hallway outside her office. It’s Ramis. Keep your eyes peeled — it’s easy to miss if you’re not paying attention.
More: How the ‘Ghostbusters’ Team Landed All Those Cameos
Bill Murray, whose Peter Venkman was the undeniable star of the 1984 movie, clocks the most screen time of any of the original cast. He plays Martin Heiss, a famous skeptic out to debunk the claims of the Ghostbusters. He appears in two scenes: once on a TV news show and then later in the film when he turns up at the team’s HQ, where he makes the fatal error of unleashing a trapped ghost.
Annie Potts (put-upon secretary Janine Melnitz) surfaces as the apathetic desk clerk at the Mercado Hotel, the Manhattan establishment that is spook central.
Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd in 1984 ‘Ghostbusters’ (Columbia Pictures)
Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz) briefly rolls in as a cabbie during the climactic spirit invasion of Times Square, noting the “Class 5 Golden Vapors [are] nothing to worry about” before announcing, “I don’t go to Chinatown, I don’t drive wackos, and I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.”
Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddmore) turns up at the very end, playing the uncle who comes looking for the ill-fated hearse he loaned his niece Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones). She informs him it’s on the “other side” (“Jersey?” comes the reply), and tells him he’ll just have to make due with one hearse and double up on the bodies. “What? I’m not stacking them like flapjacks!” he says as the credits start to roll and the theme music plays.
Finally, Sigourney Weaver (the possessed Dana Barrett) arrives during the beginning of the credits. She plays Jillian Holtzmann’s mentor, a character named Rebecca Gorin. After proclaiming that her equipment is dangerous, they bond over their shared derring-do: “Safety lights are for dudes.”
The Theme Song
After the prologue, Ray Parker Jr.’s theme is briefly played; it’s reprised in an instrumental version as the Ghostbusters roll into action at the start of the third act and at the beginning of the credits before giving way to the Fall Out Boy-Missy Elliott remake, which is also is heard during the movie.
The Gear
Like Winston said in ’84, “We have the tools, we have the talent.” Updated versions of the classic jumpsuits, proton packs, PKE (psycho-kinetic energy) meters, ghost traps, and ecto goggles are present, all creations of Holtzmann, the spiritual successor to Spengler.
The Logo
The seminal Ghostbusters logo returns, but this time we get a backstory. Holtzmann is inspired to adopt the image after a subway hoodlum (Nate Corddry) spray-paints it on the wall.
The secret origin of the seminal symbol is revealed (Sony Pictures)
The Ride
The logo adorns the team’s uniforms and their newfangled Ectomobile. While the old-school vehicle was a pimped-out 1958 Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance rescued from a salvage yard, the latest is a 1980s Caddy hearse wagon (sorry, Uncle Bill!). Both share the ECTO-1 license plate.
The new Ectomobile accessorized with ghostly hood ornament (Sony Pictures)
The HQ
After getting booted from academia, the OG crew wound up hanging their shingle in a New York firehouse, Hook and Ladder Company 8, bankrolled by Ray. The new film gives a nod to the location, as a Realtor shows the same space to the team, which is excited to shack up there until they learn the rent will be $21K a month. At the film’s conclusion, newly flush with funds from the city, the Ghostbusters finally set up shop at the firehouse.
Hook & Ladder Company 8 is back (Sony Pictures)
The Ghosts
The key spirits from 1984 are back. Slimer materializes during the climactic attack on Times Square, hijacking the Ecto-1 and taking it for a joy ride.
Slimer finds love and more hot dogs in new ‘Ghostbusters’ (Sony Pictures)
When he reappears, he has acquired a lady friend, who looks just like him except with a blond wig. Mr. Stay Puft returns as one of the creepy balloons that terrorize the streets of Times Square. Kristen Wiig gets slimed. And the logo ghost gets supersized into the biggest, baddest of the spirits in the final showdown.
The logo ghost terrorizes Times Square (Sony Pictures)
During the post-credit tag, Patty listens to a recording from a purported haunted house, turns to the team, and says, “What’s Zuul?” — not only setting up a potential sequel, but also paying tribute to the apocalyptic demon that possesses Sigourney Weaver and wreaks havoc on New York in the original.
The Other Cameos
Whereas the 1984 film was stocked with appearances by Larry King, Joe Franklin, and Casey Kasem as themselves, the new version features Al Roker, New York TV fixture Pat Kiernan, and Ozzy Osbourne. Poor Ozzy’s part was recorded before his split with wife Sharon, adding an unintended poignancy to his line reading of “Sharon, I think I’m having another flashback.”
Pat Kiernan (above) and Al Roker (below) pop up in new ‘Ghostbusters’ (Sony Pictures)
