Despite the loud, and oftentimes hateful, opposition to the all-female Ghostbusters reboot, the movie is coming, and it's not stopping for anyone. Lovers of the original claiming that the reboot is ruining their childhoods will soon be either riled up or (hopefully) quieted by the film's release, as differences between the two films make themselves known. The most obvious way the new Ghostbusters is different from the original is, well, the all-female team of Ghostbusters, but, more than that, both films have completely different filmmakers behind them — different screenwriters, directors, producers (for the most part) — and were created during completely different times. It's not surprising, then, that Ghostbusters has many changes from the original.
If you choose to believe original Ghostbusters star and co-writer Dan Aykroyd, one major way in which the reboot differs from the original is big: that it's better. "Apart from the brilliant, genuine performances from the cast both female and male, it has more laughs and scares than the first2 films," Aykroyd wrote on his official Facebook page in May. Of course, that's just one person's opinion, but still, if Aykroyd, a member of the originals, can see the new Ghostbusters movie as a body of work separate from the first movies, then I think fans can too. Here are some differences one can expect when seeing the new Ghostbusters. Minor spoilers ahead!
1. New Cast, New World
It's important to remember that the new Ghostbusters is a reboot, not a sequel, meaning that all events of the original films have not happened in this new one. Ray Stanz, Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddmore never got to together to form the Ghostbusters, and they never saved Manhattan from the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
2. The Scares
When director Paul Feig set out to co-write and direct the new Ghostbusters, he was determined to make a comedy film that was as scary as possible, while still maintaining a bit of the goofy spirit of the original. "I want ours to be scarier than the original, to be quite honest," Feig said in an interview with Empire Magazine . Sure, the new film might not be super scary, but it will have more scares than the original.
3. The Ghosts
The new Ghostbusters film brings with it a brand new wave of ghosts. Based on the trailers, the ghosts are mostly blue and green in color — different than the color of ghosts in Ghostbusters — and even some returning ghosts, like Slimer, look a bit different in tone and opacity. It also looks like the new Ghostbusters films will have fewer tangible ghosts (likely due to special effects advances).
4. Returning Cast, Not Characters
Original cast members returning to the franchise, including Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson, will not be playing their classic characters. As previously stated, this is a reboot, not a sequel, so those characters don't exist in this new reality put forth in Ghostbusters, at least not as we know them.
5. Ghost Time Travel?
A shot from the climactic battle sequence shown in the trailers for the new Ghostbusters appears to show the ghosts manipulating Times Square, making it appear as it did in the '70s. It's unclear if this means that ghosts can actually travel through time, or if they just have the ability to visually re-create their era of origin. Either way, it's unlike anything we've ever seen in the Ghostbusters universe.
Of course, there are still a lot of similarities that remain. What — you didn't think they were going to make a new Ghostbusters without the Ectomobile, did you?
Images: Columbia Pictures; Giphy (5)
