Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 Is Bringing Back The Franchise’s Best Villain
Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 is bringing back the best bad guy in the series!
This article is more than 2 years old
While Ghostbusters: Afterlife is still busting box office numbers, the franchise is already heating up over talks of a second Afterlife film. Writer and director Jason Reitman has already paidd homage to his father, Ivan Reitman’s original Ghostbusters film with the reemergence of Gozer the Gozerian, and it seems the younger Reitman doesn’t plan to stop there. Recent news from the filmmaker points at another famous return slated for Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2; the return of the Ghostbuster franchise’s best villain, Vigo the Carpathian.
Recently appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Reitman teased that the pending Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 could feature an appearance from the villain of the 1989 sequel, Ghostbusters II. Reitman said, “There is a lot of time and opportunity for Vigo The Carpathian to make his return. Look, are you saying that’s the only painting of Vigo The Carpathian? Maybe, he’s riding a horse in another one, maybe, impaling someone in another one.” While the sequel film was largely deemed a failure amongst critics, both the films remain iconic amongst their fandom nearly three decades later, with some even claiming that the villain and storyline from Ghostbusters II was actually better than the first. While Reitman’s statement doesn’t necessarily promise a full-on return of the barbaric monster-like man, we are hopeful that Reitman can deliver a creepy, if not superior version of quite possibly the scariest Ghostbuster villain to date.
The sequel film followed the Ghostbusters five years after they first saved New York City from imminent doom. Nearly forgotten, the crew mainly answers calls to perform at kids’ birthday parties until a portrait at the museum where Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barret works attempts to regain power in the real world. The 16th-century warlord from the picture, known as Vigo the Carpathian, was portrayed by the late Wilhelm von Homburg. Gaining power through mood slime, which flowed through a river in abandoned subway tunnels, Vigo channeled the people’s negative emotions to manifest his army of angry spirits, but ultimately he needed a baby to possess in order to manifest his true physical form. While the two films boasted two completely different types of villains, Vigo the Carpathian — who may reappear in Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 — was believed by many to be a much darker and more ominous villain than Gozer.
With the Ghostbusters revival in full throttle, Ghostbusters: Afterlife delivered on bringing back nostalgic characters from the past. The latest entry follows the daughter of ghostbuster Egon Spengler, and her kids as they move to their late grandfather’s farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma. When the kids discover Egon’s Ghostbuster equipment, they take up the late Egon’s mantle just as paranormal activity descends on the small town. As the story unfolds, we find that the original film’s villain, Gozer the Gozerian, is at the heart of the issues. Afterlife is chock full of callbacks and references to the original films, including an homage to everyone’s favorite stay-puft marshmallow man, but many fans were left disappointed with the lack of inclusion from Ghostbusters II. While Reitman is apparently already working out the details for Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2, the film has yet to be approved by the studio. However, looking at the success that Afterlife has seen in less than two weeks, the film will likely get the green light soon. Whether or not we will get to see the vile Vigo take form in a modern setting remains up to Reitman.
