'Ghostbusters' Reboot Marketing Confusingly Hints At Original Franchise Connection

When the first trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot was released, the reference to the original storyline of four scientists friends saving New York City over 30 years ago confused some fans, leading them to believe that this new movie existed in the same universe. However,  everything that director Paul Feig and writer Katie Dippold have said indicates that this is a hard reboot where people don't know ghosts exist and therefore there has been no need for the Ghostbusters. But is there a chance they're lying?

A new piece of marketing that announces the arrival of the proton pack as if it's a real product from Sony Corporation seems to indicate some kind of link between the reboot and the original franchise. But more than likely, it's just a confusing piece of viral marketing. See what we're talking about below.

Sony released this video online yesterday, announcing the proton pack on their own site:

As you can see, that's the new proton pack from the Ghostbusters reboot (or at least one of them). But what's simultaneously interesting and perplexing is that the video mentions the proton pack being in development for over thirty years in collaboration with Dr. Jillian Holtzmann and Dr. Egon Spengler. Wait, what?

That's right, this press release for the proton pack says it was created with the help of Kate McKinnon's scientist character and Harold Ramis' iconic collector of spores, mold and fungus from the original Ghostbusters. But how is that possible? The two characters don't exist in the same universe, as far as we've been told, so what's the deal here?

More than likely, Sony wanted to do a cool video like this, but they felt like fans would be mad if they pretended the proton pack was created only by Dr. Jillian Holtzmann and didn't mention Egon Spengler as being partly responsible for its creation. But that also creates quite a bit of confusion if the characters don't actually exist in the same world. It's not helped by this paragraph in the press release that accompanies the video:

Engineers at Sony Corporation developed the 2016 Proton Pack™ in collaboration with nuclear engineer and munitions expert Dr. Jillian Holtzmann. Sony President and CEO Kazuo Hirai commented "The perfection of the Proton Pack™, long a dream of the world's greatest engineers since first pioneered by Dr. Egon Spengler of Columbia University, is an example of Sony's relentless pursuit of innovation. It absolutely delivers the wow factor that is so important to our company mission.

Maybe we're reading into things too much, but what if the talk about parallel dimensions is more than just the world where ghosts come from? What if the Ghostbusters reboot merely exists in a parallel dimension, allowing the other franchise to still exist and maybe potentially crossover with the new one? That would be an interesting explanation for the original cast having cameos beyond just the gimmick of a mere appearance.

Plus, let's not forget about this shot in the trailer :

The ghosts appear to be manipulating New York to look like it did back in the late 1970s. Is there a chance the ghosts have the power to shift time? Maybe that's how we'll see a connection to the original franchise.

Honestly, I don't think there will end up being a connection, but I did previously write about why it seems necessary and would be possible while still adhering to what Paul Feig and Katie Dippold wanted to accomplish with their story. Anyway, you can check out the page where this proton pack confusion comes from right here. Otherwise, stay tuned to see how much more confusing Sony's marketing for the Ghostbusters reboot turns out to be.

Do you think we'll see the Ghostbusters reboot connected to the original franchise?