Ghostbusters 2 was a comeback as big as Stay Puft and as grand as Gozer; however, the return of NYC’s paranormal professionals has a theory that reveals the reason why the franchise went broke in between movies. Set five years after the original film, Ghostbusters 2 became a successful sequel and a cult classic that gave the series new life as a rise-from-the-ashes tale. Although in between movies, there was potentially another story as sad as it was humorous about the rise and fall of once-beloved parapsychologists in the aftermath of Ghostbusters.
In the final act of the original Ghostbusters, Gozer manifested to start the apocalypse as a world-ending deity. Instead of ending it by fire, ice, or as a hideous sloar, because of Ray’s wandering mind, the avatar of Earth’s end accidentally took the form of a food mascot, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Although the movie ended with the world saved from a confectionary cataclysm and Stay Puft reduced to a puddle of marshmallow fluff, the character became just as iconic and synonymous with the series as their grimy green mascot Slimer.
Despite defeating Gozer and saving the world, the beginning of Ghostbusters 2 reveals most of the original team went their separate ways after their booming business went bankrupt. However, while the movies vaguely explain what caused Egon, Peter, Ray, and Winston to disband, a theory implies (via Reddit) that Stay Puft had the last laugh when the marshmallow corporation took the four Ghostbusters to court, acting as the catalyst of their initial downfall.
How Ghostbusters 2 Explains The Team Being Broke
Before re-establishing themselves as paranormal pop culture celebrities, Ghostbusters 2 revealed the business no longer hunted ghosts. Due to the confrontation with Gozer, the remaining ghostbusters wound up entertaining little kids. Although celebrated as heroes at the end of the original film, it seemed after Ghostbusters, NYC saw it differently.
In Ghostbusters 2, Winston noted that their ruination between movies came from insurmountable legal problems caused in the previous film. Winston explains: “…we conjured up a hundred-foot marshmallow man, blew the top three floors off an uptown high-rise, and ended up getting sued by every city, county, and state agency in New York.” However, the Reddit Stay Puft theory explains there was more to Winston’s story, and it may have damaged both their brands.
Theory: The Ghostbusters Were Sued By The Stay Puft Marshmallow Company
Although in Ghostbusters 2, the courts didn’t fully recognize the supernatural, the ghostbusting business faced several legal battles over five years. With Ray and the others sued for property damage, emotional distress, and various other charges, it’s what initially ended their paranormal extermination business in New York. However, Ghostbusters’ literal biggest foe may theoretically have been the start of it all.
The Stay Puft Reddit theory explains that a copyright lawsuit resulted when Ray inadvertently summoned up the Stay Puft mascot as a harbinger of the apocalypse. In one scenario, all of NYC heard Ray admit to conjuring Stay Puft. After Ray’s confession, the Stay Puft representatives supposedly argued that regardless of whether the incident was supernatural or part of an elaborate hoax, Ray could’ve chosen any character unlicensed, original, or within the public domain. A beloved icon with a big brand behind him, the lawyers concluded that the Ghostbusters maliciously created a monster version of their marshmallow man seen worldwide and did irreparable damage to their public image. After the Stay Puft Marshmallow Corporation won its case, it was only the beginning of the paranormal investigators’ legal problems, as more charges came in from the city. The theory mentions with all the compounded settlements and lawsuits, Winston didn’t need to reiterate Stay Puft’s when explaining what happened between the original Ghostbusters movies. The Stay Puft case is only a theory, but fits with Ghostbusters’ offbeat sense of humor, and it expands on the idea that ghostbusting is a complicated profession with more to fear than monsters, ghosts, and deities.
What Happened To Stay Puft Marshmallows After Ghostbusters
Since Ghostbusters, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man became a horror icon, and despite having been defeated, it wasn’t the last time the character showed up. Throughout the Ghostbusters series, Stay Puft appeared in cartoons, comics, video games, etc., as a friend, foe, and everything in between for NYC’s paranormal protectors. However, after being noticeably absent from Ghostbusters 2, the Reddit theory also explains how Stay Puft’s mascot returned for Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Set decades after the original Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters: Afterlife shows that Stay Puft was still a brand name and that despite the Gozer incident, their brand still had a place on store shelves. The theory on Reddit explains that the Stay Puft character garnered enough nostalgia to bring it out of retirement after Ghostbusters 2, resulting in the movie’s smaller and more mischievous “Mini-Pufts” running amok upon Gozer’s return. Additionally, as Mr. Grooberson in Ghostbusters: Afterlife pointed out, the first confrontation with Gozer faded into history over the years, thus allowing the brand to recover. Then to cash in on nostalgia, the theory explains, the corporation once again branded its marshmallows with the Stay Puft mascot.
Whether canon or not, film theories are fun to explore, giving new insight and context into films that don’t always appear onscreen. The Stay Puft theory is a fascinating idea considering the Ghostbusters: Afterlife upcoming movie sequel has possible ties to Ghostbusters 2. Regardless, one of the reasons Ghostbusters is such a beloved piece of modern mythology is the infinite number of stories, ideas, and characters explored by series-runners and fans alike.
