The revamped Ghostbusters movie is really picking up steam now. A couple weeks ago, Paul Feig (Spy) and Sony unveiled a slick new website. And yesterday, the marketing team released a teaser for the full trailer, which is slated to launch in early March, giving fans their first major look at the new chapter in the Ghostbusters saga. Those looking forward to the new flick can also catch a glimpse of some of the upcoming merchandise being released in conjunction with the film.
This year’s Toy Fair in New York City showcases some of the biggest new toy lines, including new releases from Star Wars, Marvel, and DC, as well other major and minor lines. However, Mattel’s new line of Ghostbusters toys offers a glimpse at what appears to be two of the new team’s adversarial apparitions.
Toy and Ghostbusters fanatics “Pixel Dan” Eardley and Paul Nicholasi attained some shots of the new figures from the 2016 Toy Fair, providing the name and the look of one of the main villains in Feig’s reboot. As reportedly confirmed by Mattel, one of the big baddies – who bears such a remarkable similarity to the classic Ghostbusters logo that it’s impossible to dismiss – is named Rowan. The other clearly villainous critter (via Ghostbusters Mania) is a demonic-looking monster who goes by the name Mayhem – an extremely fitting name for such a wicked looking ghoul.
Click Here to See the Ghostbusters Toys
Among the other fun surprises from Toy Fair are scaled-down action figures of the new Ghostbusters team. Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon are on display in all their ghostbusting glory. Just as exciting for fans of the original series is the Ecto Mini 3-pack, which reveals an old favorite’s probable return to the series – Slimer. The gelatinous green blob appears alongside another gooey looking ghost and a shrunken version of Patty Tolan.
The real question is: how do these new villains tie into the new film? Although it’s being reported that Rowan is the main villain in the reboot, from his size and menacing appearance, it seems more likely that Mayhem is the big baddie. However, Rowan – who is possibly played by Neill Casey – could be also one of the major adversaries the Ghostbusters have to overcome as multiple eras of ghosts and ghouls menace the city. And another curiosity is whether he actually inspires the Ghostbusters’ logo or takes on a familiar form to mock the team? Since the new film is a hard reboot, they could play with the mythology a little, but Feig does seem to hold the original films in high regard.
Slimer, of course, is still a wild card. In the original film, he wasn’t quite the friendly ghost many fans think of from the cartoon follow-up, The Real Ghostbusters. Even in the lesser Ghostbusters 2, Slimer was more comic relief than anything else. Will he, like the original Ghostbusters, be merely a cameo or bit part, or is he working alongside or against the Ghostbusters this time around? Hopefully, these and more questions will be answered when the trailer is released on March 3.
Ghostbusters hits theaters July 15, 2016.
