Ghostbusters: Afterlife Featurette Spotlights Film's Many Easter Eggs

Filmmaker Jason Reitman is an acclaimed director in his own right, but adding more credibility as to why he was tapped to helm Ghostbusters: Afterlife is that he is the son of original director Ivan Reitman, arguably making Jason one of the biggest fans of the series there is. This means that, while there are a number of obvious ways in which the latest film in the series references what came before it, there are dozens of subtle nods to the franchise that audiences might not have caught on the big screen, with the below video highlighting some of those Easter eggs that viewers might not have spotted during their initial viewing. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is out now on Digital HD and hits 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 1st.

From director Jason Reitman and producer Ivan Reitman, comes the next chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe. In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. The film is written by Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan.

This is merely a fraction of the Easter eggs in the film, with its home video release including a featurette highlighting the other references spotted throughout the adventure. Full special features on the release include the following:

• We Got One! Easter Eggs Revealed
• Ghostbusters: A Look Back
• A Look Ahead
  
• Bringing Ecto-1 Back to Life
• The Gearhead's Guide to Ghostbusters Gadgets
• Special Effects: The Ghosts of Afterlife
• Deleted Scene: Is It Ever Too Late?
• Summoning the Spirit: Making Ghostbusters: Afterlife

While it was obviously important to honor everything that came before it, this new film also aimed to ignite excitement for a new generation of heroes, as co-writer Kenan previously detailed.

"As ever, when you're talking about a big film like that that has so many secrets up its sleeve, I've got to be extremely careful when talking about it," Kenan told the Just The Facts with Alex Zane podcast. "But I will say, from what we've been able to put out there, the important thing is communicating what is earnestly at the center of all this: which is us as writers, as storytellers, Jason and I, keeping the flame lit."

He added, "The flame that sparked for us — never mind the weight of proximity to the source of the Ghostbusters legend — for both of us as audience members, as pure audience members who were moved and were changed by seeing Ghostbusters. That lit a flame in both of us that we felt like we could keep lit for the people who, like us, shared it as young audience members and a new generation of audience that could feel that same scope of thrills, terror, wonder, comedy, movie magic. So hopefully all of that stuff lives on in our film."

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is out now on Digital HD and hits 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 1st.

Did you catch these references in the film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars.