Sony will be celebrating the home release of its latest installment in the Ghostbusters franchise with a brand new Ultimate Collection boxed set, but it looks like everybody isn’t invited to the party. Although the collection will include the original blockbuster, its 1989 sequel, and the just-released Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the set rather pointedly omits Paul Feig’s 2016 reboot, a snub which the director himself pointed out in a recent tweet.
Feig’s Ghostbusters: Answer the Call featured Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as a reimagined all-female version of the original Ghostbusters. The effort was a lightning rod for social media debate with many regarding the casting as gimmicky while others complained that the film was being given short shrift entirely because of the gender switch. Some are arguing that the film’s omission from the new box set is yet another glaring example of erasure.
Feig’s tweet has led to yet another round of Ghostbusters fans arguing the merits of the 2016 installment. Many feel that the movie was not included because it’s simply not canonical. While Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife are all specifically interrelated, Answer the Call is a complete reimagining and though original cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts all made cameo appearances in the movie, they were playing entirely different roles.
Ernie Hudson, who played ghostbuster Winston Zeddemore in the series, has stated,
“[Afterlife is] not a reboot. Because when you say reboot, which is the third movie, the one with the ladies — that I actually liked a lot. I definitely loved everybody who was in it.
“Paul Feig, I’m still fans of theirs — they tried to do a reboot. And a reboot, to me, means you’re trying to do the movie over. Another version of what we already did. And I think that was a mistake. It wasn’t a continuation or an extension of [the original].”
In any case, it seems unlikely that Sony will attempt to amend the issue by releasing a set including Answer the Call and while some fans will feel that preserves the franchise’s integrity, many will take it as yet another slap in the face to fans of the reboot.
Ghostbusters Ultimate Collection will be available for purchase on Feb. 1, 2022.
