“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”It aims to tell a complex and charming story about family dynamics, offer the same mix of comedy and scares that made the original film so popular and introduce new audiences to the bizarre world of ghost traps and proton packs. Notably, it’s looking to do all these things within the context of modern, big-budget blockbusters, which lean on vast, interconnected networks of shared mythology to give audiences more bang for their buck. This is the goal. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” has adopted one of the quirkier aspects of today’s mega-movies: the mid- and post-credits sequences.
Employed most memorably by Marvel Studios, which introduced the practice on its very first movie, 2008’s “Iron Man,”It is now used in a variety of scenarios. All with the single goal of expanding the world, and introducing ideas and characters that can be expanded on in future installments. And “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”It is a great idea.
So let’s dig into the “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” credits sequences – what they are, what they mean and what they could be leading toward.
Huge spoilers “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” follow. Seriously – turn back now!
The Original Ghostbusters Question: How the Mid Credit Scene Answers
Filmograph’s genius credits sequence is presented before the mid-credits and post-credits scenes begin. “Candyman” remake and Amazon’s great “The Underground Railroad” series). The sequence’s last credit is “And Sigourney Weaver.”But, wait. Sigourney Weaver wasn’t in “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.”What does it mean?
It cuts to her giving Bill Murray a psychic power test. It’s a wonderful combination of her name, surprise at her name, and her appearance. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.”Murray is asked by her to identify the symbol on his opposite side of the card. He keeps getting it right! Murray admits that he used just to shock the male subject, while hitting on his female subject (which gives Sigourney a little jolt). Murray finally admits, after some flirtatious romantic banter, that he had marked the cards ahead-of-time so he could identify them. He is shocked again.
Now, this isn’t the most plot-heavy mid-credits scene. It doesn’t introduce the “Ghostbusters” equivalent of the Infinity Stones or establish some new villain who, I don’t know, causes people to turn inside out (or something). However, it answers a crucial question. “Ghostbusters” lore: whether or not Weaver’s Dana Barrett and Murray’s Peter Venkman ended up together. (There is nothing on Barrett’s son Oscar and whether or not Peter is his father. This remains unresolved. It’s a lovely little scene and it’s nice that it was in there. Did you think? “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”Was Sigourney not going to appear on the show? Get on board!
A sequel is planned for the Post-Credits Scene
This sequence is a bit more interesting. First, a brief deleted sequence is shown from the original film. It seems to be from right before the team enters Dana’s building for their final confrontation with Gozer. Annie Potts’ Janine Melnitz is standing outside the building talking to Harold Ramis’ Egon Spengler. She’s giving him a small medallion from the 1964-65 World’s Fair. It’s a cute scene and aligns with the first movie’s subtle implication that there is some romantic chemistry between Spengler and Janine. (Potts appears briefly in the earlier movie). “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” assisting Spengler’s family as they move into his rickety old farmhouse. She also gets one of the movie’s best lines.)
We then cut to Janine right now. She’s flipping the coin over in her hand. She’s in an expensive-looking office building. It then becomes clear that she’s visiting Winston Zeddemore, the former ghostbuster who has gone on to great wealth and power in the private sector. Janine asks if Winston is still paying rent on Ray’s occult book shop. Winston replies that Ray will make a profit someday, but Winston confirms this.
Pretty soon, their conversation begins to be intercut with other footage – Winston visiting the old firehouse (even though earlier in the movie, Dan Aykroyd’s Ray says somewhat forlornly that the firehouse has been turned into a Starbucks). The ECTO-1 is being rolled into firehouse. It’s the iconic ghostbuster vehicle. Winston speaks about the importance of passing on knowledge and tools to the next generation. The last shot, which is the end of the movie and the scene after credits, shows Winston pushing in slowly on the ghost containment unit that was used in the first film. The light changes from red to green as the camera approaches it. This is followed by a loud thud. It’s on.
Is Winston the Ghostbusters Universe’s Nick Fury?
The post-credits sequence suggests that Winston may be interested in franchising ghostbusters technology and establishing ghostbusting outposts around the globe. He’s certainly got the money and the means to do so. But the question is where? Which supernatural forces will the pair face? These questions will not be answered until the box office receipts for the first weekend are in. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,”But it looks like the franchise might finally be back in business after all these years.