Editor's note: The article below contains spoilers for Ghostbusters: Afterlife.Ghostbusters: Afterlife is packed with references to the bustin' blockbusters that came before it, from classic props like proton packs and Ecto-1, to cameos from the old Ghostbusters themselves. Afterlife is also a film about legacy, be it familial or franchise. The story centers on the daughter (Carrie Coon) and grandkids (Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard) of Egon Spengler, played in the first two movies by the since-passed Harold Ramis, also one of the masterminds behind the series. The most surprising cameo - of sorts - however, is the appearance of Ramis' Egon, albeit in CGI ghost form, at Afterlife's climax.
The scene was a crowd-pleasing moment, and now Jason Reitman, director of Afterlife and son of Ivan, who helmed the first film, has had his say. In an interview with Empire, he described how the scene was put together, detailing just how involved Ramis' family were in the production (and, not least, his appearance). In Reitman's words:
"The first person that ever read the script was my father, and after my father it was the Ramis family. It was Harold's widow, Erica, and daughter Violet, who I grew up knowing – we were both on the set of the original back in '83. I talked to them about what we wanted to do, how we were going to do it."
According to Reitman, the Ramis clan was directly involved with the film from start to finish, along with being the first to see the film in full. "They came to set, and they viewed visual effects that came to the editing room," he says, continuing:
"They're the first people to ever actually see the movie. So they were part of this movie from start to finish and I think they were aware of how much I wanted to honor Harold. Egon was my favorite Ghostbuster. This is a Spengler story, and this movie is dedicated to him in every way."
A family affair in every way possible, it would seem. Ghostbusters: Afterlife comes to Digital on January 4, 2022, and Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray, and DVD on February 1, 2022.