The Ghostbusters YouTube channel has released previously unseen footage from the film's final showdown between the four madcap spirit wranglers and Zuul, the gatekeeping demigod.
"They crossed the streams?! Take a look at the raw vs. finished footage of this iconic scene from #Ghostbusters!" reads the description underneath the video, which syncs the scene's grainy, pre-effects on top of the finished product.
The scene begins right after the infamous "crossing the streams" conversation, wherein Egon informs the others of the cataclysmic consequences of linking each other's nuclear proton streams -- something they end up doing, regardless. The raw footage alternates between crude, dirt speckled and pre-color corrected scenes with some choppy, black and white takes interspersed in between. Of particular note is the absence of series stalwart, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, whose flame-infused hands and furious wails are sorely missed in the pre-effects footage.
The Ghostbusters franchise has experienced a reawakening the past few years, beginning with the controversial all-female reboot released in 2016. Ghostbusters: Afterlife, directed by the original director's son, Jason Reitman, was scheduled to be released this summer but was pushed to next year due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is directed by Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the film with Gil Kenan. Starring Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd and Mckenna Grace, the film arrives in theaters March 5, 2021.