Ghostbusters Easter Eggs and Throwbacks

Ghostbusters Easter eggs: Meet the New Team

An all-new group of specter-fighting women is ready to answer the call in the new Ghostbusters movie, but the reboot is also packed with tributes to the 1984 original. Some of the throwbacks are obvious -- like the new team’s proton packs and uniforms -- but a few require a sharper eye. With the new Ghostbusters hitting theaters this weekend, we’ve rounded up some of the cleverest Easter eggs and hidden tributes -- spoilers ahead!

Ring the fire alarm

The original team, of course, blew their savings to buy and fix up an old firehouse to use as Ghostbusters headquarters. The new group tries to buy the same firehouse, only to be told that the rent is $21,000 a month. So they settle for a place above an old Chinese restaurant instead.

Columbia University

In the original, Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler worked at Columbia University before going into the private sector (a.k.a. becoming full-time ghostbusters). The new film finds Kristen Wiig’s character Erin Gilbert also working at Columbia.

Paying tribute to Harold Ramis

The late Ramis both co-wrote the original movie and starred as Spengler, but he died in 2014. The new movie honors him with a bronze bust in his likeness at Columbia University.

Cameos upon cameos

It’s already been confirmed that original cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver all make an appearance, but this time, they’re playing totally new characters. (Sadly, no Rick Moranis.) We won’t spoil the exact details here, but rest assured: At least one of them gets to say, “I ain’t afraid of no ghost.”

Slimer returns!

We don’t see old characters like Venkman and Stantz, but we do get a lengthy appearance from everyone’s favorite hot dog-guzzling ball of ectoplasm. And Slimer’s not alone this time: Along the way, he’s picked up a lady friend, and the pair end up taking a joy ride through the streets of New York.

That iconic logo

It takes the new Ghostbusters a while to find the right name — and the right logo. As their secretary, Chris Hemsworth comes up with a variety of ill-advised and blatantly sexist options, but the team ends up finding inspiration in some anti-ghost subway graffiti instead.

A shocking throwback

In Ghostbusters II, the team faces off against the Scoleri brothers, two prisoners who were sentenced to death by electric chair. In the new movie, MTA employee Patty (Leslie Jones) is investigating a disturbance down the in subway when she finds herself face-to-face with an apparition: another ghostly inmate who also died by electric chair.

A sense of confusion

The logo, the Ecto-1, and the firehouse are all pretty blatant callbacks, but there are also a few tributes hidden in the new Ghostbusters dialogue. The new movie subtly references one of Dan Aykroyd’s most beloved lines — “Listen, do you smell something?” by having Hemsworth similarly mix up his senses, like covering his eyes when he’s told not to listen in.

Mass hysteria!

In a throwback to one of Bill Murray’s most famous quotes — “human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria” — Melissa McCarthy’s character Abby Yates tells the mayor that she doesn’t want to provoke “mass hysteria,” but there’s definitely something strange going on in New York.

‘Tell him about the Twinkie’

The new Ghostbusters includes a number of scenes in Times Square, but hidden among all the flashing lights and billboards is an ad for Twinkies — a fitting nod to Ernie Hudson’s “That’s a big Twinkie” line.

The return of a familiar foe?

Don't read any further unless you've seen the new Ghostbusters -- spoilers ahead!

The end credits scenes are packed with cameos and references, but — spoiler alert! — the last scene ends with Leslie Jones’ character Patty listening to an audio recording and asking her teammates, “What is Zuul?” If we get a sequel any time soon, there’s a good chance we’ll see the return of the villainous Gatekeeper of Gozer, who possessed Sigourney Weaver in the original.