Paul Feig‘s “Ghostbusters” made a wise decision to borrow a certain element of superhero films — and we’re not talking about hiring Chris Hemsworth.
The all-female reboot features a post-credits scene — a nugget for devout fans willing to sit through movie credits to get a small taste of the next installment’s plot (or, in the Marvel and DC Movies, that of a future story in the shared universe).
Friday’s Sony Pictures release teases something that could be a major part of a follow-up film, though a “Ghostbusters” sequel has yet to be announced.
[WARNING: Do not read ahead if you don’t want spoilers from the post credits scene in “Ghostbusters.”]
In the scene, the lead funny ladies — Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and undeniable breakout Kate McKinnon — have saved New York and taken retreat into the day-to-day business of ghostbusting.
While McCarthy, Wiig and McKinnon fiddle with gadgets, Jones’ character Patty sits analyzing audio tapes for suspicious frequencies when she picks up on a strange noise.
“What is Zuul?” Jones asks, as her partners give a collective shrug.
Diehard fans of the original “Ghostbusters” might recognize the name instantly — Zuul is the troublemaking demigod who possesses the body of Sigourney Weaver in the 1984 comedy.
Zuul (also known as “The Gatekeeper”) is the underling of demon Gozer the Gozerian, a god of destruction that manifested as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in the classic that starred Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis.
Zuul’s possession of Weaver provided perhaps one of the most indelible images of absurd ’80s sex appeal ever captured on film (see a clip courtesy of MoviePilot below).
What’s more interesting about Zuul’s backstory — and the implications it has for the future of the modern Ghostbusters franchise — is that, according to legend, the demigod can only possess the body of a female.
This means any threat Zuul might pose would come in the form of a woman, which means more girl power for a second outing. To spare you more spoilers, we’ll simply say that men are the ones causing most of the supernatural trouble in this film.
“Ghostbusters” opens July 15 nationwide.