In the real ghostbusters episode “Take Two” the animated ghostbusters get their very own movie made basically as a documentary. In the episode when the animated characters are reading the scripts they read off the actors names such as Ramis and Murray. Near the end of the episode the start of ghostbusters 1984 plays as they watch it in the theatre. So technically the cartoon is cannon in its own weird way? I always thought it was strange personally, I never really liked the idea of the live action movie being a documentary type movie in the animated cannon personally. No mention of a sequel ever though.
The events of the movie are canon to the animated series as well. The events were just turned into a movie, in its continuity. Just like how in Scream 2, the events of Scream 1 were made into the movie Stab. And the events of Ghostbusters 2 were adapted in the Real Ghostbusters comics. So both movies happened in the animated canon, slightly differently. But the events of the cartoon did not happen in the movies timeline.
The ordering of chapters for this video felt a little off as the discussion over the comics felt out of place. While there were countless non-cannonical comics across the 80's and 90's, the IDW Comics timeline (which has been extremely consistent) was not only considered to be the main cannon until Afterlife (but if Afterlife was received the same as Answer the Call, would be still the main cannon to this day.) For those who missed the comics run (which is understandable as the Hardcover collections were a stupid low print run), IDW launched a brand new series in 2011 which effectively ran until Afterlife began production. The IDW's prime reality was the cannon stories up until Afterlife. The story started just after the events of the Video Game. The "Rookie" would in the comics eventually become a member of the Chicago branch (as mentioned in the movies and end credits of the video game ~ starting new teams, in new cities is a natural progression.) When it was announced that the coming film (Afterlife) would decannonize the Video Game, the IDW Prime Dimensions' tales did start focusing on fan-service including 2018's Crossing Over which was What If Spider-Verse but Ghostbusters. A direct acknowledgement that they were no longer telling the prime cannon tales anymore so why not start going out with a bang. As a matter of fact to distant the main Movie timeline from those Comics, Ghost Corps changed comics publishers to Dark Horse Comics for the just started "BACK IN TOWN" which is stated to be 100% cannon to the movies to tell tales of events between Afterlife and Frozen Empire.
Since the comics aren’t considered part of the primary canon, I was going to avoid discussion of them altogether, but I brought them up only briefly to allude to all the points you just made. The comics bridge the cinematic universe with all the extended content, which essentially makes everything canon in some alternate universe or another. It’s pretty cool, because it allows fans to enjoy what parts of the franchise they prefer without feeling detached from everything else.
In my mind EVERYTHING made under license is "canon"... it's just that there are multiple canons... movieverse canon, cartoon canon, video game canon, etc.
@@jacobgrantphotography they did it this way with the Transformers stories. There is basically a multiverse of dozens if not hundreds of Transformers universes. Everything ever printed, filmed or spoken under Hasbro license is canon, in its universe. The Transformers Collectors Club even made a big official naming system for each universe, indexed by the type of media and date it was created. That way even if a Transformers TV show, a comic book and a video game contradict each other on some minor plot point, all three are canon to their own sub-universe. Even the text printed on the toy boxes is its own universe.
The Scoleri Brothers in Ghostbusters 2 look like Jake and Elwood Blues. Another reference to John Belushi. Also, the cartoon had to be titled The Real Ghostbusters to differentiate from the Filmation cartoon and live-action show.
Loving this this video so far! However, regarding “Cinematic Universes weren’t a thing in the 80’s & 90’s”, they very much were considered a thing by the producers at Paramount. Star Trek actually was the first successful example of a cinematic universe across TV and Movies (Universal Monsters being the first true example but it didn’t include TV), we just didn’t have a phrase for that term yet. 🖖 Continuing the video now. Great work!
Thanks for the feedback! I said they weren’t REALLY a thing, yeah, but some franchises were branching out. Star Wars did a great job of it with their books and comics, until Disney took over. Compared to today where everything has to be a cinematic universe, back in the 80s and 90s it was rare which I think was the sentiment I was trying to convey.
Great video that hit me right in the nostalgia feels. Are there any videos that go over Callie Spengler's childhood? Somebody mathing out when she was born, the fact they don't mention it, the ghostbusters having lives and things happening that aren't always on camera and thus leaving open a lot of things they could bring in future installments without adding any back story. It sets a precedence that makes it not only alright, but potentially acceptable to add things to the story without foreshadowing as long as you allude to on screen vs off screen time.
Good job! As a total Ghostbusters fan, it was appreciated, if only to listen to someone else besides myself ramble on about Ghostbusters. I also totally tear up during the Egon scenes from Afterlife
I think that it was creative genius how the animated show established itself in the first episode (i.e. marshmallow-covered uniforms that had to be ditched, Gozer reference, Slimer being drawn to them, etc.) as the PRIMARY source material, and the movies as creative-license "documentaries" of the animated characters and their exploits. It gave children a sense of ownership when they may not have been allowed to see the movie.
Yes, a stroke of genius at the time! Now it’s viewed as a kind of “in joke.” But the cartoons were never meant to replace the primary canon that is the movies.
In the The Real Ghostbusters episode citizen ghost it is technically Canon to the end of Ghostbusters 1 and just before it Ghostbusters 2 I considered citizen ghost to be part of the movie franchise. Because here's the reason why it shows the destruction of the firehouse when they return
The cartoon is technically hyper-canon. In the series, it states that the movies are based on the exploits of the cartoon characters. The events happened to the cartoon characters, but the films are actors telling those stories. This makes Extreme Ghostbusters canon to the animated series continutity, and so is technically the "real" continuity Also The Real Ghostbusters was generally a monster of the week story, but every so often it did have some internal continuity. In The Thing in Mrs. Faversham's Attic we find out Peter has a tender heart toward his mom, then in X-mas Marks the Spot we find out it was because his dad was away doing business all the time so he had to look after her. Then in Venkman's Ghost Repellers we meet Peter's dad and see what a sleazy conman he is and at the end of the episode we hear he's "selling ice boxes to eskimos" which is a joke, but it leads directly into Cold Cash & Hot Water where he finds the demon Hob Anagarak incased in magic ice in Alaska and calls on Dr. Bassengain (a charlatan who tried to con Ray's aunt in the episode The Spirit of Aunt Lois) to release it, which causes trouble
I'm just excited to see this movie, what's canon or not doesn't bother me I just love the GB movies. Except for the female version, as much as I wanted to like it I didn't and couldn't, no shade to those actresses they did what they could with that material. But thank you for this breakdown, I grew up more on the movies that is what I have more nostalgia for even though I did watch real GB cartoon as a kid I watched and rewatched the first 2 movies.
To as a kid in the 80's who loved ghostbusters, the cartoons were whats cannon and the movies were their own thing. But as an adult idk i like the cartoons and movies all the same.
Cool :-) and that’s kind of the point I tried to make in the video. Because of the comic books, everything is technically canon as part of the larger Ghostbusters Multiverse.
The REAL Ghostbusters is REAL The movies are movies with actors. The REAL Ghostbusters even go to the theatrical premier of the Bill Murray starring Ghostbusters movie based on their story. You're welcome.
Haha! That’s hilarious! According to official sources though, the cartoon isn’t part of primary canon, which means you can look at them as either an alt-universe or a “tv show” existing within the main continuity.
@jacobgrantphotography - it would be pretty cool if in Frozen Empire they made reference to the cartoon series being a thing, like how the hit song was real and they danced to it at birthday parties.
Since the cartoons aren’t part of the primary canon, and the movies were inserted into the cartoons as a joke, it’s hard to take the cartoons seriously.
I didn’t forget. I just didn’t mention it because it’s not part of the primary canon and there are dozens of Ghostbusters video games. I couldn’t mention them all.
I'm sorry but Jason Reitman is NOT his father..He should have left this alone....Afterlife to me was boring and the way they ruined Egon to me was unconscionable....I can see the meeting now-'Hey I know how to get the fans back!!!Make Egon a deadbeat absentee dad!!!!"No thnaks .It was a slap in the face to Harold Ramis and his genius...
The Ghostbusters universe is sooooo full of potential, we just need the right team of writers, producers and directors to bring it back to its roots. I had a thought the other day, but can you imagine if Chris Nolan did a Ghostbusters Trilogy.
Ill save everyone else 15 minutes. Gb1 and 2 are canon as well as the video game from 2009. RGB, XGB, and the IDW comics are all in their own separate universes. You're welcome.
There are a couple of things I might like to point out as potential plot holes in this timeline 1: Egon's age at time of death. In Ghostbusters Afterlife, we opened with Egon's epic last stand with Gozer, where he sadly loses his life trying and failing to stop the demon. It is suggested that Egon was in his 70s at this time. Back tracking to the time frame of Extreme Ghostbusters, there is a scene where Egon is confiding with Extreme team member Garrett Miller about his feelings of becoming obsolete in his old age and as Garrett over guesses Egon's age, Egon informed Garrett that he is 39 Years old, with cannon establishing Egon's age at the time of Extreme Ghostbusters as 39, and his age at death in the beginning of Afterlife at being in his 70s, that would put the events of Afterlife at no less then 31 years after Extreme Ghostbusters when Egon will be 70 years old and no more then 41 years after Extreme Ghostbusters when Egon would be 80 years old. To be fair, let's split the difference and say Ghostbusters Afterlife is 36 years after Extreme Ghostbusters, with Egon being 75 at that last stand with Gozer. Now, assuming Ghostbusters is set in 1984, when it was released, and Ghostbusters 2 is set 6 years later in 1990, as often asserted in the dialog. It was stated in a scene in Extreme Ghostbusters with the mayor in which the mayor sought to demonize the Ghostbusters as being con artists, that he the mayor shut down the Ghostbusters 8 - 9 years prior when Egon would have been 30 - 31. This would have had to have been some time after the ending of Ghostbusters 2 where the city rallied around the Ghostbusters and the Mayor of that time awarded them the key to the city, for saving the city from that 14 century European noble tyrant ghost. Likely the mayor in Extreme Ghostbusters being that lower city council member, who had risen to mayor in the next election 2 - 3 years later in 1992 - 1993. If Extreme Ghostbusters is 8 - 9 years after that that would put Extreme Ghostbusters in 2000 - 2002. Again if Ghostbusters Afterlife is 36 years later this would put the time frame of Ghostbusters Afterlife in 2036 - 2038. Now in Afterlife we are introduced to Egon's daughter Callie Spangler single mother of two children Egon's grandchildren Pheobie and Trevor Spangler. And they assert in the movie that Callie is in her 30s, this would put her birth in the immediate time frame of Extreme Ghostbusters but instead the movie dialog suggested Callie was born some time before the events of the first movie including Callie herself arguing that her father Egon left her and her mother to pursue that career in paranormal investigation. And the teacher Mr Gruberson telling Pheobie and Trevor about the events of the original Ghostbusters in the 80s, stated these events were about 30 years ago, but as our timeline here states if Egon was in his 70s at his last stand with Gozer, then the events of the 2 previous movies would be closer to 45 - 50 years ago. And if Callie was indeed born before the events of the first movie she would be in her 50s, not her 30s. In which case Pheobie and Trevor should probably have been grown adults not high school students. 2: The Ecto 1 In Ghostbusters Afterlife as Trevor explored Egon's farm he finds the Ecto 1 in the barn, people have looked at how the Ecto 1 was shown in Afterlife and argued Afterlife ignores the changes made to the Ecto 1 in the second movie asking if that meant the second movie was no longer cannon. It could just as easily be argued that the Ecto 1 Trevor finds in the barn is in fact not the original we see in the movies but is in fact a second new Ecto 1 Egon built for his use in Summerville, a Ecto 2 so to speak. For this let me bring you back to Extreme Ghostbusters, and the aforementioned Extreme team member Garrett Miller, Garrett Miller was paraplegic wheel chair bound, so to accommodate Garrett the original Ecto 1 had to be modified to be wheel chair friendly, with a ramp and wheel chair locking dock. If Extreme Ghostbusters is still cannon with the Extreme team still operating somewhere Garrett would need the Ecto 1 with it's wheel chair accommodation, which would lead Egon to simply build an Ecto 2 for himself when he arrives back in his home town in Summerville. Another potential clue that this wasn't the original Ecto 1, can be found in how Pheobie and the others perceive it as a station wagon. With Pheobie even asking Trevor why he picked "The Station wagon?" The original Ecto 1 was a refurbished hearse not station wagon, in which case Pheobie should have stated curiosity at her grandfather keeping a hearse in his barn, along with her brother picking said hearse, but she didn't recognize the vehicle as a repainted hearse because it wasn't a refurbished hearse, it was a station wagon Egon converted into the Exto 2, after he arrived in Summerville some 10 years prior in his 60s. But this may raise the question 3: Where are the Extreme Ghostbusters? If the Extreme Ghostbusters are cannon and the Extreme team is still in operation somewhere some 35 - 36 years later, where are they and why didn't any of them appear in the movie? Do they appear in Frozen empire as part of Winston's project to elevate and amplify the Ghostbusting industry in New York? Or did they move on to expand somewhere else? And will thus be slated to appear elsewhere in a later movie?
Egon is 76 years old in GB Afterlife. This is because his age is derived from Harold Ramis' real date of birth (21 Nov 1944). That movie takes place 32 years after GB2 (1989). GB2 takes place 5 years after GB1 (as stated at the start of the sequel). You are conflating the animated version of Egon with his movie counterpart. The reason Egon says he is 36 years old in Extreme GB is because the animated version of Egon is much younger than the Ramis version. Remember, the movies are fictional versions of the Real GB's adventures. Extreme GB likely takes place in the year it was produced (1997), so approximately 8 years have passed since the events of GB2. Therefore, Animated Egon was about 28 years old in GB2, and 23 years old when he battled Gozer. The reason the Extreme GBs don't exist in the movie universe is simply because the films haven't gotten around to "adapting" their exploits yet. It is still possible that Movie Egon could have recruited them during the 32 year gap between GB2 and Afterlife, but until the movies confirm this, we have to assume that the events of EGB didn't happen in the movie universe timeline, just like all the other cartoon exclusive characters (Sandman, Samhain, Boogeyman, Grundel, etc). Based on his age in Extreme GB, and if we assume that cartoon took place in the year it was released (like all the other GB movies and cartoons), then Animated Egon would be 60 years old at the time of his death in 2021.
Ghostbusters the video game will always be one of my favorite video games
It was so epic!
still considered part 3 to me, afterlife part 4, and frozen empire part 5
@@JaceD4V1S88 same it's just such a good game I'm hoping one day we get a sequel to that incredible game
Currently replaying 🚫👻
@@JaceD4V1S88 likewise and it takes place close enough to part 2 that it still fits into that 30 year time gap.
In the real ghostbusters episode “Take Two” the animated ghostbusters get their very own movie made basically as a documentary. In the episode when the animated characters are reading the scripts they read off the actors names such as Ramis and Murray. Near the end of the episode the start of ghostbusters 1984 plays as they watch it in the theatre. So technically the cartoon is cannon in its own weird way? I always thought it was strange personally, I never really liked the idea of the live action movie being a documentary type movie in the animated cannon personally. No mention of a sequel ever though.
That’s a good assessment. The canon is so convoluted that different people can look at it in whatever way they prefer.
Yeah, according to TRG cartoon, THAT is the real versions, while the actual movie was just a movie made about their lives. Fun stuff.
The events of the movie are canon to the animated series as well. The events were just turned into a movie, in its continuity. Just like how in Scream 2, the events of Scream 1 were made into the movie Stab. And the events of Ghostbusters 2 were adapted in the Real Ghostbusters comics. So both movies happened in the animated canon, slightly differently. But the events of the cartoon did not happen in the movies timeline.
The ordering of chapters for this video felt a little off as the discussion over the comics felt out of place. While there were countless non-cannonical comics across the 80's and 90's, the IDW Comics timeline (which has been extremely consistent) was not only considered to be the main cannon until Afterlife (but if Afterlife was received the same as Answer the Call, would be still the main cannon to this day.)
For those who missed the comics run (which is understandable as the Hardcover collections were a stupid low print run), IDW launched a brand new series in 2011 which effectively ran until Afterlife began production. The IDW's prime reality was the cannon stories up until Afterlife. The story started just after the events of the Video Game. The "Rookie" would in the comics eventually become a member of the Chicago branch (as mentioned in the movies and end credits of the video game ~ starting new teams, in new cities is a natural progression.)
When it was announced that the coming film (Afterlife) would decannonize the Video Game, the IDW Prime Dimensions' tales did start focusing on fan-service including 2018's Crossing Over which was What If Spider-Verse but Ghostbusters. A direct acknowledgement that they were no longer telling the prime cannon tales anymore so why not start going out with a bang. As a matter of fact to distant the main Movie timeline from those Comics, Ghost Corps changed comics publishers to Dark Horse Comics for the just started "BACK IN TOWN" which is stated to be 100% cannon to the movies to tell tales of events between Afterlife and Frozen Empire.
Since the comics aren’t considered part of the primary canon, I was going to avoid discussion of them altogether, but I brought them up only briefly to allude to all the points you just made. The comics bridge the cinematic universe with all the extended content, which essentially makes everything canon in some alternate universe or another. It’s pretty cool, because it allows fans to enjoy what parts of the franchise they prefer without feeling detached from everything else.
Ghostbusters 2 is my favorite movie of all time
You are my people
Yeah I love Ghostbusters 2
In my mind EVERYTHING made under license is "canon"... it's just that there are multiple canons... movieverse canon, cartoon canon, video game canon, etc.
That’s a good way of putting it, and that’s kinda the point I made toward the end of the video.
@@jacobgrantphotography they did it this way with the Transformers stories. There is basically a multiverse of dozens if not hundreds of Transformers universes. Everything ever printed, filmed or spoken under Hasbro license is canon, in its universe.
The Transformers Collectors Club even made a big official naming system for each universe, indexed by the type of media and date it was created.
That way even if a Transformers TV show, a comic book and a video game contradict each other on some minor plot point, all three are canon to their own sub-universe. Even the text printed on the toy boxes is its own universe.
The Scoleri Brothers in Ghostbusters 2 look like Jake and Elwood Blues. Another reference to John Belushi. Also, the cartoon had to be titled The Real Ghostbusters to differentiate from the Filmation cartoon and live-action show.
Loving this this video so far!
However, regarding “Cinematic Universes weren’t a thing in the 80’s & 90’s”, they very much were considered a thing by the producers at Paramount. Star Trek actually was the first successful example of a cinematic universe across TV and Movies (Universal Monsters being the first true example but it didn’t include TV), we just didn’t have a phrase for that term yet. 🖖
Continuing the video now. Great work!
Thanks for the feedback! I said they weren’t REALLY a thing, yeah, but some franchises were branching out. Star Wars did a great job of it with their books and comics, until Disney took over. Compared to today where everything has to be a cinematic universe, back in the 80s and 90s it was rare which I think was the sentiment I was trying to convey.
Great video that hit me right in the nostalgia feels. Are there any videos that go over Callie Spengler's childhood? Somebody mathing out when she was born, the fact they don't mention it, the ghostbusters having lives and things happening that aren't always on camera and thus leaving open a lot of things they could bring in future installments without adding any back story. It sets a precedence that makes it not only alright, but potentially acceptable to add things to the story without foreshadowing as long as you allude to on screen vs off screen time.
Nice work dude.
Appreciate you saying so! Thanks for comment :-)
Good job! As a total Ghostbusters fan, it was appreciated, if only to listen to someone else besides myself ramble on about Ghostbusters. I also totally tear up during the Egon scenes from Afterlife
I'm still kind of disappointed the events of Ghostbusters 2 it was not mentioned in Ghostbusters afterlife
But they were mentioned in Frozen Empire ;)
I think that it was creative genius how the animated show established itself in the first episode (i.e. marshmallow-covered uniforms that had to be ditched, Gozer reference, Slimer being drawn to them, etc.) as the PRIMARY source material, and the movies as creative-license "documentaries" of the animated characters and their exploits. It gave children a sense of ownership when they may not have been allowed to see the movie.
Yes, a stroke of genius at the time! Now it’s viewed as a kind of “in joke.” But the cartoons were never meant to replace the primary canon that is the movies.
In the The Real Ghostbusters episode citizen ghost it is technically Canon to the end of Ghostbusters 1 and just before it Ghostbusters 2 I considered citizen ghost to be part of the movie franchise. Because here's the reason why it shows the destruction of the firehouse when they return
The cartoon is technically hyper-canon. In the series, it states that the movies are based on the exploits of the cartoon characters. The events happened to the cartoon characters, but the films are actors telling those stories. This makes Extreme Ghostbusters canon to the animated series continutity, and so is technically the "real" continuity
Also The Real Ghostbusters was generally a monster of the week story, but every so often it did have some internal continuity.
In The Thing in Mrs. Faversham's Attic we find out Peter has a tender heart toward his mom, then in X-mas Marks the Spot we find out it was because his dad was away doing business all the time so he had to look after her. Then in Venkman's Ghost Repellers we meet Peter's dad and see what a sleazy conman he is and at the end of the episode we hear he's "selling ice boxes to eskimos" which is a joke, but it leads directly into Cold Cash & Hot Water where he finds the demon Hob Anagarak incased in magic ice in Alaska and calls on Dr. Bassengain (a charlatan who tried to con Ray's aunt in the episode The Spirit of Aunt Lois) to release it, which causes trouble
You did an awesome job!
Thanks!
When a franchise peaks with the first movie but still endures for decades.
Gasp!
I'm just excited to see this movie, what's canon or not doesn't bother me I just love the GB movies. Except for the female version, as much as I wanted to like it I didn't and couldn't, no shade to those actresses they did what they could with that material.
But thank you for this breakdown, I grew up more on the movies that is what I have more nostalgia for even though I did watch real GB cartoon as a kid I watched and rewatched the first 2 movies.
Same. But I had to go over the extended universe content for the video even though it doesn’t mean much to me personally.
I always have a good time with the 2016 movie. I just don't understand the hate. Thank You for at least including its existence in your video.
No problem :-)
Great vid
I appreciate that :-)
Sweet video
Glad you enjoyed it!
To as a kid in the 80's who loved ghostbusters, the cartoons were whats cannon and the movies were their own thing.
But as an adult idk i like the cartoons and movies all the same.
Cool :-) and that’s kind of the point I tried to make in the video. Because of the comic books, everything is technically canon as part of the larger Ghostbusters Multiverse.
@@jacobgrantphotography I'm not a fan of multiverse stuff just because I find that it's largely lazy writing....but I get it.
you hardly mentioned Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed. That game starts where GB afterlife ended. with Winston refurbishing the firehouse.
Because it’s not considered canon and exists in its own separate continuity. Unfortunately.
Spirits unleashed isn’t cannon. It’s its own thing
@@AmmonMurphy Cannon is the gun. Canon is texts considered legitimate
But so is GB: The Video Game, but we went over that...@@jacobgrantphotography
If there's something strange and you can't make wood, who you gonna call? YOUR DOCTOR!! I ain't fraid of no probe....
Everything except Ghostbusters 2016
The REAL Ghostbusters is REAL The movies are movies with actors. The REAL Ghostbusters even go to the theatrical premier of the Bill Murray starring Ghostbusters movie based on their story.
You're welcome.
Haha! That’s hilarious! According to official sources though, the cartoon isn’t part of primary canon, which means you can look at them as either an alt-universe or a “tv show” existing within the main continuity.
@jacobgrantphotography - it would be pretty cool if in Frozen Empire they made reference to the cartoon series being a thing, like how the hit song was real and they danced to it at birthday parties.
Whats canon?
GB1
GB2
GB Afterlife
GB Darkhorse Comics (TBR takes place between Afterlife and FE)
GB Frozen Empire
GB Netflix Series TBA
Yeahhhhh… this is not the video I was hoping to see when I read the title
How come?
A few commenters have raised some issues, but so far it’s been nothing but varying degrees of preference.
You got a point wrong. The Ghostbusters movies are actual movies in the cartoon, not the otherway around.
Since the cartoons aren’t part of the primary canon, and the movies were inserted into the cartoons as a joke, it’s hard to take the cartoons seriously.
@@jacobgrantphotography I never saw the cartoons as canon period. I was just pointing out where the films stood with them.
Bro forgot about Spirits Unleashed
I didn’t forget. I just didn’t mention it because it’s not part of the primary canon and there are dozens of Ghostbusters video games. I couldn’t mention them all.
I'm sorry but Jason Reitman is NOT his father..He should have left this alone....Afterlife to me was boring and the way they ruined Egon to me was unconscionable....I can see the meeting now-'Hey I know how to get the fans back!!!Make Egon a deadbeat absentee dad!!!!"No thnaks .It was a slap in the face to Harold Ramis and his genius...
Respect your opinion, but wholeheartedly disagree.
Ray would end pixels sold in the beginning.Look it up and watch the movie
Of course 2016 is the best of all!!! ... Just kidding its a crappy piece of sh*t 😂
The Ghostbusters universe is sooooo full of potential, we just need the right team of writers, producers and directors to bring it back to its roots. I had a thought the other day, but can you imagine if Chris Nolan did a Ghostbusters Trilogy.
Actually wish that Ghostbusters afterlife would have been somewhat of a live-action version of extreme Ghostbusters
Ill save everyone else 15 minutes. Gb1 and 2 are canon as well as the video game from 2009. RGB, XGB, and the IDW comics are all in their own separate universes. You're welcome.
Except that’s not entirely accurate. Hence the video.
There are a couple of things I might like to point out as potential plot holes in this timeline
1: Egon's age at time of death.
In Ghostbusters Afterlife, we opened with Egon's epic last stand with Gozer, where he sadly loses his life trying and failing to stop the demon. It is suggested that Egon was in his 70s at this time. Back tracking to the time frame of Extreme Ghostbusters, there is a scene where Egon is confiding with Extreme team member Garrett Miller about his feelings of becoming obsolete in his old age and as Garrett over guesses Egon's age, Egon informed Garrett that he is 39 Years old, with cannon establishing Egon's age at the time of Extreme Ghostbusters as 39, and his age at death in the beginning of Afterlife at being in his 70s, that would put the events of Afterlife at no less then 31 years after Extreme Ghostbusters when Egon will be 70 years old and no more then 41 years after Extreme Ghostbusters when Egon would be 80 years old. To be fair, let's split the difference and say Ghostbusters Afterlife is 36 years after Extreme Ghostbusters, with Egon being 75 at that last stand with Gozer. Now, assuming Ghostbusters is set in 1984, when it was released, and Ghostbusters 2 is set 6 years later in 1990, as often asserted in the dialog. It was stated in a scene in Extreme Ghostbusters with the mayor in which the mayor sought to demonize the Ghostbusters as being con artists, that he the mayor shut down the Ghostbusters 8 - 9 years prior when Egon would have been 30 - 31. This would have had to have been some time after the ending of Ghostbusters 2 where the city rallied around the Ghostbusters and the Mayor of that time awarded them the key to the city, for saving the city from that 14 century European noble tyrant ghost. Likely the mayor in Extreme Ghostbusters being that lower city council member, who had risen to mayor in the next election 2 - 3 years later in 1992 - 1993. If Extreme Ghostbusters is 8 - 9 years after that that would put Extreme Ghostbusters in 2000 - 2002. Again if Ghostbusters Afterlife is 36 years later this would put the time frame of Ghostbusters Afterlife in 2036 - 2038. Now in Afterlife we are introduced to Egon's daughter Callie Spangler single mother of two children Egon's grandchildren Pheobie and Trevor Spangler. And they assert in the movie that Callie is in her 30s, this would put her birth in the immediate time frame of Extreme Ghostbusters but instead the movie dialog suggested Callie was born some time before the events of the first movie including Callie herself arguing that her father Egon left her and her mother to pursue that career in paranormal investigation. And the teacher Mr Gruberson telling Pheobie and Trevor about the events of the original Ghostbusters in the 80s, stated these events were about 30 years ago, but as our timeline here states if Egon was in his 70s at his last stand with Gozer, then the events of the 2 previous movies would be closer to 45 - 50 years ago. And if Callie was indeed born before the events of the first movie she would be in her 50s, not her 30s. In which case Pheobie and Trevor should probably have been grown adults not high school students.
2: The Ecto 1
In Ghostbusters Afterlife as Trevor explored Egon's farm he finds the Ecto 1 in the barn, people have looked at how the Ecto 1 was shown in Afterlife and argued Afterlife ignores the changes made to the Ecto 1 in the second movie asking if that meant the second movie was no longer cannon. It could just as easily be argued that the Ecto 1 Trevor finds in the barn is in fact not the original we see in the movies but is in fact a second new Ecto 1 Egon built for his use in Summerville, a Ecto 2 so to speak. For this let me bring you back to Extreme Ghostbusters, and the aforementioned Extreme team member Garrett Miller, Garrett Miller was paraplegic wheel chair bound, so to accommodate Garrett the original Ecto 1 had to be modified to be wheel chair friendly, with a ramp and wheel chair locking dock. If Extreme Ghostbusters is still cannon with the Extreme team still operating somewhere Garrett would need the Ecto 1 with it's wheel chair accommodation, which would lead Egon to simply build an Ecto 2 for himself when he arrives back in his home town in Summerville. Another potential clue that this wasn't the original Ecto 1, can be found in how Pheobie and the others perceive it as a station wagon. With Pheobie even asking Trevor why he picked "The Station wagon?" The original Ecto 1 was a refurbished hearse not station wagon, in which case Pheobie should have stated curiosity at her grandfather keeping a hearse in his barn, along with her brother picking said hearse, but she didn't recognize the vehicle as a repainted hearse because it wasn't a refurbished hearse, it was a station wagon Egon converted into the Exto 2, after he arrived in Summerville some 10 years prior in his 60s. But this may raise the question
3: Where are the Extreme Ghostbusters?
If the Extreme Ghostbusters are cannon and the Extreme team is still in operation somewhere some 35 - 36 years later, where are they and why didn't any of them appear in the movie? Do they appear in Frozen empire as part of Winston's project to elevate and amplify the Ghostbusting industry in New York? Or did they move on to expand somewhere else? And will thus be slated to appear elsewhere in a later movie?
Egon is 76 years old in GB Afterlife. This is because his age is derived from Harold Ramis' real date of birth (21 Nov 1944). That movie takes place 32 years after GB2 (1989). GB2 takes place 5 years after GB1 (as stated at the start of the sequel).
You are conflating the animated version of Egon with his movie counterpart. The reason Egon says he is 36 years old in Extreme GB is because the animated version of Egon is much younger than the Ramis version. Remember, the movies are fictional versions of the Real GB's adventures. Extreme GB likely takes place in the year it was produced (1997), so approximately 8 years have passed since the events of GB2. Therefore, Animated Egon was about 28 years old in GB2, and 23 years old when he battled Gozer.
The reason the Extreme GBs don't exist in the movie universe is simply because the films haven't gotten around to "adapting" their exploits yet. It is still possible that Movie Egon could have recruited them during the 32 year gap between GB2 and Afterlife, but until the movies confirm this, we have to assume that the events of EGB didn't happen in the movie universe timeline, just like all the other cartoon exclusive characters (Sandman, Samhain, Boogeyman, Grundel, etc).
Based on his age in Extreme GB, and if we assume that cartoon took place in the year it was released (like all the other GB movies and cartoons), then Animated Egon would be 60 years old at the time of his death in 2021.
Anything canon except the woke-buster version
That’s a sentiment I can get behind LOL