Page for the characters appearing in 2016's Ghostbusters.
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The Ghostbusters
In General
The Ghostbusters
- Action Girl: Four women who are more than willing to kick ghost ass.
- Badass Bookworm: Three scientists with post-doctorates, and a subway worker with encyclopedic knowledge of NYC's history.
- Badass Crew: They only succeed by complimenting each other.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Holtzmann (blonde), Gilbert (redhead) and Yates (brunette).
- Distaff Counterpart: Played with; each of the main characters is one of these to the main characters of the original film, but in a way which tweaks the original character slightly:
- Erin Gilbert has Peter Venkman's skepticism and Chivalrous Pervert tendencies, but is more uptight and professionally conscious. She's also more of an insecure, nebbishy Shrinking Violet than a smooth Deadpan Snarker. She also tends to be the one who gets doused with ectoplasm, similar to how Venkman was notably "slimed" in the first movie.
- Abby Yates is the child-like true believer like Ray Stanz, but is more aggressive and confrontational.
- Jillian Holtzmann, like Egon Spengler, is the eccentric super-scientist and engineer, but is more of a manic Mad Scientist than a buttoned-down emotionless Spock. She also has some of Venkman's snarkiness and disdain for authority going on.
- Patty Tolan is the African American blue collar non-scientist and Only Sane Man like Winston Zeddemore, but is less unflappable and openly acknowledges how crazy everything is. She also brings more of her own knowledge base to the table as she's an amateur historian and avid reader fascinated by New York history.
- Kevin is a Spear Counterpart, being the receptionist like Janine Melnitz, but unlike her is a complete ditz who can barely function.
- Loners Are Freaks: Played with; the Ghostbusters eventually become True Companions and a Badass Crew with each other, but all of them — particularly Erin, Abby and Jillian — are slightly odd and eccentric people in many ways and none of them appear to excel much at making connections with other people aside from each other. It's what gives them a similarity to Rowan, a similarly odd loner who also has difficulty making connections with people but instead let it warp him into bitterness.
- Mistaken for Gay: In a deleted scene, the hotel receptionist says it's only two people per room and it isn't that kind of hotel.
- Nightmare Fetishist: While Patty might be the exception, the other three are fascinated by ghosts, even calling one who just vomited ectoplasm "beautiful".
- Put on a Bus: Weirdly the tie-in game has them off fighting ghosts in Washington DC with the player controlling a third group of Ghostbusters.
- The Team: Abby is The Leader because she's the one pushing the ghostbuster idea. Erin is The Lancer who balances her enthusiasm with professionalism and is the co-author of their book. Jillian is the Gadgeteer Genius who makes all their gear. Patty is strong enough to smack ghosts out of people making her The Big Guy but she also has practical knowledge of New York as a Haunted House Historian. Kevin is supposed to be The Face as their receptionist but he's just incompetent.
- True Companions: Grow into this by the end they all have tight friendships, helped by the fact Erin and Abby were friends before life drove them apart (with both driven to each other by being weirdos), and the latter worked with Holtzmann (who does a toast to how she finally found a group where she fits).
Erin Gilbert
Erin Gilbert
Played By: Kristen Wiig
A scientist who became fascinated with ghosts after being haunted as a child. After writing a book with Abby, she gave up on the paranormal and became obsessed with appearing as sane as possible.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Separates from the other Ghostbusters after the defeat of Rowan, but comes back after learning that his ghost plans to haunt New York. The Extended Version explains this by showing her punch a blogger who calls her, "Ghost Girl", as well as the ensuing media scandal.
- Ambiguously Bi: Though she does drool over Kevin for much of the film (and even that tapers off as she realizes how brainless he is) , there are times when she appears flattered by Holtzmann's constant flirting with her if not slightly interested.
- Big Damn Heroes: After Abby, Holtzmann and Patty get trapped under a giant Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man balloon, she gets them out by popping it with the swiss-army knife Holtzmann gave her earlier.
- Broken Bird: As an eight-year-old child, Erin was haunted by the ghost of an elderly neighbor who appeared at the end of her bed. Every night. For a year. Everyone thought she was crazy, and right through to adulthood, Erin cares most about being perceived as sane and respectable.
- Character Tics: A subtle example; in stressful situations she's involved in or when she's nervous, on several occasions if you look closely you can see her repeatedly clench and unclench her hand.
- Chivalrous Pervert: While she mostly hired Kevin for his looks, and awkwardly flirted with him during his interview, she does try (albeit barely) to not overstep the boundaries between them as workers and grows to care about him enough to go rescue him from Rowan.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Erin is fired from Columbia in retaliation for an embarrassing video surfacing when she is up for tenure. Close to the beginning of the semester when she has her class schedule already.
- Distracted by the Sexy: By Kevin, constantly.
- Eating the Eye Candy: The primary reason she hires Kevin is his good looks... and the fact there's no other applicants for the job.
- Everyone Has Standards: As pertains to Kevin and employment, in any case; she is hardly subtle about her attraction to him, but even she initially draws the line at actually employing him as the secretary until informed that there are no other applicants.
- Foil: To Rowan. Both are people who believe in and actively seek ghosts, are friendless, and are ostracized for their beliefs. Erin is a college professor; Rowan is blue collar worker. When Erin's past involving ghosts is revealed, she tries to hide it and keep appearances while Rowan doesn't hide it at all and is viewed as creepy by everyone. Ultimately, Erin finds herself thanks to The Power of Friendship while Rowan finds himself by turning into a ghost.
- Freudian Excuse: Her intense desire for respect and desperation to be seen as a legitimate, mainstream academic stems from her childhood when she saw a ghost for a whole year and no one except Abby believed her. Her parents forced her into therapy and her childhood peers bullied and ostracized her.
- The Hero: The protagonist of the film, defending civilians from supernatural pestering and the one who changes the most during the story.
- Instant Humiliation: Just Add YouTube!: Erin's fired from Columbia after her recorded reaction to contacting with a ghost is put online and found by the higher-ups.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She initially comes off as quite pompous, disdainful and uptight, but it's gradually revealed that this is mainly due to her Freudian Excuse and the resulting issues around normalcy and exclusion that it left her with. The more time she spends with the other Ghostbusters, the more relaxed and likeable she becomes.
- Locked into Strangeness: Her hair becomes blanched snow-white after she and Abby are sucked into the portal, requiring her to dye it afterwards.
- More than Just a Teacher: She once worked as a supernatural physicist before the start of the film, trying to prove that ghosts exist. However, she later abandoned the project and disavowed it as nonsense in order to accept a teaching job at Columbia.
- Must Have Caffeine: She can't stand to see Abby throw her coffee out, even after Kevin tastes it and spits it back out in the cup. Although it's implied that this is more to do with her attraction to Kevin than the caffeine itself.
- No Social Skills: She's naturally quite a socially awkward and easily flustered person, but even at the beginning when she's making a conscious effort to appear normal and conventional she's clearly not that good at it and tries a bit too hard. Despite the more obvious eccentricities and social outsider natures of Holtzmann and Abby, she may have this trope worst simply because she tries harder to fit in and so fights against her own personality instead of embracing herself.
- Old Shame: Her paranormal book who she wrote with Abby ("I thought I burned the only two copies of this...").
- Shrinking Violet: Even though she's the unofficial leader of the team, she does give off this vibe.
- Stalker with a Crush: Not intentionally, but her crush on Kevin coupled with her socially awkward personality leads her to take on this edge at times.Abby: You're like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
- Stepford Smiler: At the beginning of the film, due to her desperation to be seen as legitimate. Drops this after people start accepting the existence of ghosts.
- Took a Level in Badass: At the beginning of the movie, she's quite meek and passive; by the end, she's kicking almost as much spectral ass as Holtzmann.
Abby Yates
Abby Yates
Played By: Melissa McCarthy
Erin's old friend from high school and co-author of her paranormal book. They split over publishing disagreements, and Abby took a job at a lower-end college.
- Acrofatic: Although she is heavyset, she's able to do a no handed cartwheel while wearing a proton pack. A proton pack is often described as being quite heavy on its own as well. (McCarthy says that the prop is heavier than Kate McKinnon) so to pull off such a move is beyond belief.
- Ambiguously Gay: Not only is she not attracted to Kevin, but she seems surprised that anyone could be. And she repeatedly describes the female ghost at the Aldridge Mansion as the most beautiful thing she's ever seen, even though she never displays such... adoration for any of the other ghosts.
- Birds of a Feather: During high school, with Erin. After she went away, with Holtzmann.
- Blood Knight: Abby gets very... enthusiastic when dealing with supernatural enemies, and YouTube trolls.
- Cool Big Sis: Acts like this with Kevin, being very patient and understanding of his quirks, and also very protective of him when he gets possessed.
- Deadpan Snarker: Gets the overwhelming majority of the snark lines in a film that's already chock-full of them.
- Decoy Protagonist: Many of the trailers indicated that Abby was The Protagonist of the story. She is actually the Deuteragonist of the film, with Erin as the actual protagonist.
- Demonic Possession: Is the first victim of Rowan's possession.
- Deuteragonist: The second most important character of the film behind Erin.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Not nearly as much as Holtzmann, but several of their tools were designed, if not made by her.
- Locked into Strangeness: Her hair becomes blanched snow-white after she and Erin are sucked into the portal, requiring her to dye it afterwards.
- Shipper on Deck: In the deleted scene where Holtzmann claims that she and Erin are dating to her mentor, Abby instantly agrees that this is the case and is quick to shoot down Erin's flustered claim that she's actually dating Kevin (although to be fair, the latter is just stating the blindingly obvious).
- Trademark Favorite Food: Chinese food, especially soup with wontons. Too bad the delivery boy is always neglecting her!
- We Want Our Jerk Back!: When the gang go to fight the possessed Kevin, Abby declares "All right, let's go save this city and get our terrible receptionist back".
Jillian Holtzmann
Jillian Holtzmann
Played By: Kate McKinnon
Abby's lab partner and overall mad scientist. She is in charge of all the equipment that the team uses.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Holtzmann, who likes Erin, who has the hots for Kevin who is oblivious.
- Ambiguously Gay: Holtzmann spends a lot of the movie flirting with her female companions, and while it's left ambiguous in-film,
Word of Gay via director and Actor-Shared Background has confirmed that she is a lesbian. It's really only the tiniest bit ambiguous, since her very first words on-screen are a pick-up line directed at another woman. - Beneath the Mask: For much of the movie, Holtzmann seems quite cocky, carefree and light-hearted, unfazed by much of what's happening and prone to trolling and teasing many of the people around her. Until the scene in the bar towards the end, when she eagerly stands up to deliver a toast to the other Ghostbusters — and, much to their surprise, unexpectedly stammers out an awkward but sincere and heartfelt tribute to her new friends and how much they mean to her while apparently on the verge of tears, suggesting that much of her self-assured cockiness is a front masking a more lonely, insecure, and vulnerable person than previously suspected.
- Betty and Veronica: Holtzmann is the eccentric Betty to Kevin's Veronica over their Archie Erin.
- Beware the Silly Ones: She's wacky, but only because of that she can create and utilize dangerous science-based weaponry.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She gleefully calls herself crazy and is enthusiastic about everything, but there is no doubt she knows her stuff. Everything she makes works—almost too well.Holtzmann: You found my pipe. I'm gonna make a proton shotgun out of it. If that doesn't work, we can just swing it around and break stuff. Win-win!
- Comedic Sociopathy: Some of Holtzmann's quirkiness tips over the line into outright callous disregard for how her actions will affect other people, such as at the concert when she grabs a guitar from a band member to smash it and then nonchalantly acknowledges that she cannot replace it. Like most examples of this trope, it's only funny if you don't think too hard about what it would be like to be on the receiving end of such behavior in real life.
- Companion Cube: When Rowan, possessing Abby, tries to smash up her inventions, her first response is to wail about her "babies".
- Deadpan Snarker: She gets a few snarky comments in, such as when Rowan asks what form he should take.Holtzmann: Something stationary! Like a bullseye.
- Dual Wielding: In the final showdown, she pops a pair of pistol attachments out of compartments in the side of her proton pack and proceeds to go to town on Rowan's ghost army.
- For Science!: Holtzmann loves to build really dangerous ghost-fighting tools just because she can and is not much concerned for their safety. She gets that lack of concern from her mentor.
- Freudian Excuse: A minor example; a deleted scene reveals that she was home-schooled as a child, which might go some way towards explaining her general eccentricity and lack of social skills.
- Friendless Background: Implied, since towards the end of the film she says she didn't think she would ever have a friend until she met Abby.
- The Gadfly: She's a Troll who likes to say wrong things to other people For the Lulz.
- Gadgeteer Genius: She creates the ghost-hunting equipment.
- Genki Girl: She's really hyperactive, and in all scenes is hardly seen without a smile and\or scenery-chewing enthusiasm.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Downplayed, but if you pay attention you can see her appearing dismayed when she sees Erin trying to flirt with Kevin.
- Herr Doktor: To be correct, Frau Doktor of course. Mad Scientist, slightly Einsteinian hair and a last name indicating that her family made it to the States too lately for Holtzmann (literally Woodman) to drop the final 'n' or do anything about the very Germanic 'tz'. Add to that her directness which is over the top...but might just run in the family.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Sure, she may be a troll who shocks people with outrageous behavior For the Lulz, but was surprisingly composed and mature when she, on the verge of tears, toasted to her sincere and heartfelt love for the team.
- Incoming Ham: "You come around here often?"
- In the extended cut, while her first line isn't as hammy ("You carry a lot of tension in your shoulders"), her intro to Erin still fits the trope ("Holtzmann. Virgo. Avid skier. Gluten-full. And 100% jazzed to meet you.").
- Large Ham: It's clear Kate McKinnon is enjoying the whole ordeal profusely. It's probably easier to list scenes where she isn't Chewing the Scenery.
- Last-Name Basis: Like Peter Venkman, she's the one that gets this while the other three are referred by first names.
- Mad Scientist: She is exuberantly enthusiastic at inventing extremely dangerous machinery (case in point: describing an alley-destroying explosion as a "small... okay, a medium poof") and showing an utter disregard for laboratory protocol.Holtzmann: Safety lights are for dudes.
- Mama Bear: One of an admittedly unconventional sort; she addresses her inventions as her "babies" and leaps to their defence when Abby-possessed-by-Rowan wails on them with a pipe.
- Nerd Glasses: Several pairs, ranging from lab goggles to side-shielded wire frames, but all have the same bright yellow lenses.
- No Social Skills: Played with; she's rather eccentric and doesn't react in social situations the way most people would, but she's nevertheless quite charming and friendly.
- One-Woman Army: Is more comfortable in the middle of a horde of hostile ghosts than a duck hopping in a pond, and single-handedly curb stomps a large horde on her own.
- Pass the Popcorn: Breaks out a can of Pringles while watching a Class 4 apparition manifest itself in the Aldridge Mansion.
- Perpetual Smiler: If she's not smiling, things just got real.
- Rockers Smash Guitars: Invoked, as after capturing a ghost at a concert, she grabs the guitarist's axe and smashes it - and apologizes afterwards saying she can't afford to buy another.
- Ship Tease: While she's not exactly shy about laying on the charm and the flirtation towards women in general, she seems to particularly have a thing for Erin. While it could also be part of her general nature as The Gadfly, a deleted scene in the extended cut makes it even more explicit when she brazenly claims to her mentor that she and Erin are dating (which comes as a bit of a surprise to Erin herself), and is visibly disappointed when Erin claims she's dating Kevin.
- Shout-Out: Her hair resembles the blonde pompadour worn by Egon in The Real Ghostbusters, which further reinforces her role as the Egon Expy of the cast. (Although it was unintentional, as Paul Feig states in the commentary track the make-up and hair team didn't know about animated Egon while creating the hairdo.)
- The Stoic: Sort of; her manic intensity about almost everything she does is balanced by the fact that her speaking tone rarely moves beyond a droll monotone and she reacts to most situations, no matter how odd or macabre, with little more than deadpan unflappability.
- Tritagonist: Shares the role with Patty, with Erin and Abby as The Protagonist and the Deuteragonist of the story, respectively.
- Troll: Holtzmann seems to enjoy annoying other people just for the sake of it.
- True Companions: Her toast at the end of the film definitely embodies the former and may hint at Family of Choice, as she references the other three Ghostbusters as a family where she never felt like she had one before. Borders on meta-
Tear Jerker territory when you consider just how many reasons she might have had to be deprived of a stable family structure (female, queer, STEM career, possibly neurodivergent). - Word of Gay: Holtzmann is a lesbian. Confirmed by director Paul Feig in behind-the-scenes interviews.
Patty Tolan
Patty Tolan
Played By: Leslie Jones
A subway operator and New York history buff who joins the team after finding a ghost on her shift.
- Ambiguously Bi: She openly expresses attraction to Phil, Erin's jerk of an ex-boyfriend, but she is also repulsed when Kevin grinds on her and shares some Ho Yay with Holtzmann.
- The Big Guy: Physically quite a bit larger than anyone else in the cast (actress Leslie Jones is 6'), which comes in handy when she's called upon to rescue Holtzmann from a Destination Defenestration.
- Bookworm: She's interested in New York history and has a stack of books on the subject at her old workplace.
- Berserk Button: She really doesn't like it when you pick on Kevin.
- Deadpan Snarker: She can get real caustic real fast, especially when stopping people from being Genre Blind.
- Establishing Character Moment: When we first meet her, she's cheerfully greeting the passerby in the subway, taking it in stride that nobody is paying attention to her. When Rowan approaches her with an ominous rant about the forthcoming apocalypse, she's clearly a little bewildered but nonetheless manages to take it in her stride. And during her first proper interaction with the team, she displays a vast knowledge of New York history.
- Gentle Giant: She's tall, muscular and imposing, but her personality is generally quite sweet, friendly and warm.
- Haunted House Historian: She knows background information about various sites within New York City. In the "updated" version of Erin's and Abby's book Ghosts From Our Past, Patty shares three pages' worth of anecdotes about spooky places from different countries.
- Nice Girl: One of the nicest Ghostbusters from the get-go.
- Only Sane Man: She is the most grounded of the four, being a former MTA worker rather than a scientist.
- Sassy Black Woman: Patty's a sarcastic African-American woman who's an MTA worker turned Ghostbuster.
- Take My Hand!: Invoked when Rowan possessing Abby throws Holtzmann out the window of the Chinese restaurant, and Patty manages to make the catch just in time. Made somewhat more believable by the involved characters' sizes (the victim is physically the smallest of any of the cast, while Patty is clearly quite muscular).
- Taught by Experience: Patty's depth of knowledge about New York City landmarks and history is easily equal to the more scientifically-minded team members' depth in their own fields, and she serves as an interpretive guide as to what their scientific data might mean. Also, her previous job working for the MTA makes her better at dealing with the authorities; in one scene after the ladies deal with a ghost, she's talking to the police while the others wrap things up.
- Token Minority: She is the only black person on the main cast.
Villains
Rowan North
Rowan North
As his chosen form
Played By: Neil Casey
A maladjusted, unhappy janitor who feels like the world hates him for his genius.
- Affably Evil: He's frequently berated by his hotel superiors, and yet keeps on being polite to them.
- Almighty Janitor: He's just a janitor but he's smart enough to utilize Abby and Erin's research and adapt it for his own ends.
- Animal Eyes: His transformation of the Ghostbusters logo gives him feline or snake like yellow eyes, along with the sharp teeth, to emphasize his evil version of the cute and cuddly logo.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: After releasing Kevin to the Ghostbusters, he mockingly takes Patty's suggestion to be "cute and cuddly" ghost and takes the form of their Bedsheet Ghost logo... before transforming into a monstrous, skyscraper-sized version of that very thing. Patty is not amused.
- Bedsheet Ghost: He takes the form of the Ghostbusters' logo with fangs, transforming the "no" symbol into a red bow tie.
- Big Bad: He's the one causing the increase in hauntings and eventually triggers a possibly apocalyptic event.
- Came Back Strong: He's a lot more dangerous when he comes back as a ghost.
- Create Your Own Villain: Although they'd never met, Abby's and Erin's book is what he consulted when he concocted his ghost-conjuring devices.
- Creepy Monotone: He mostly talks in this fashion until just before his death.
- Cute Is Evil: As a tiny animated version of the Ghostbusters' logo, he is very adorable and very evil.
- Deadpan Snarker: After his death, and especially after possessing Kevin, he drops the Creepy Monotone and starts talking with a very dry wit. Understandable since he thinks he's already won.
- Demonic Possession: After dying, he does this first to Abby and then to Kevin.
- Disco Dan: He describes the seventies as New York's glory days, and it shows in the end credits and extended edition, where he disco-dances while making his captive audience dance alongside him, toying with the credits in the former.
- Disproportionate Retribution: His whole reasoning as to why the world must be destroyed. Being a lonely genius constantly ridiculed for seeing what others cannot or just being himself hadn't helped. Given just how rude, crude, and otherwise disrespectful people in-verse can be during the movie, one can easily see why he hates people so much.
- Exorcist Head: In the final act of the movie, when possessing Abby, he rotates her head 180 degrees to mock Patty. In the end credits and extended edition, while dancing in Kevin's body, he spins around while keeping his head stationary.
- Expy: He looks like Dr. Janosz Poha from the sequel—only instead of Mouth of Sauron, he's trying to be the abomination—and has the same character arc of Dr. Ivo Shandor, a Posthumous Character from the original film who was a misanthropic occultist trying to bring about the apocalypse via a downtown Manhattan building. Also at film's end he becomes one for Gozer, even asking the Ghostbusters what form they want him to take after he dies.
- Evil Genius: He's an overweight misanthropic geek who seeks to bring about the "Fourth Cataclysm" using technology.
- Evil Laugh: Lets out a rather menacing cackle when transforming into his One-Winged Angel Bedsheet Ghost form.
- Evil Plan: To wipe away the unclean world he views as garbage due to the inhabitants living in it. He intends to unleash an army of forgotten, vengeful spirits upon the earth by creating a bunch of devices based off the heroines' own engineering in order to break the ley line barriers, thus flooding the ghostly realm into the human one.
- Foil: To Erin. Both are people who believe in and actively seek ghosts, are friendless, and are ostracized for their beliefs. Erin is a college professor; Rowan is a blue collar worker. When Erin's past involving ghosts is revealed, she tries to hide it and keep appearances while Rowan doesn't hide it at all and is viewed as creepy by everyone. Ultimately, Erin finds herself thanks to The Power of Friendship while Rowan finds himself by turning into a ghost.
- Foreshadowing: His doodle of a monstrous version of the Ghostbusters' logo, which he transforms into after becoming a ghost.
- Forgot About His Powers: Doesn't occur to him to freeze or control the Ghostbusters, like he did with the soldiers.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: An antisocial janitor who decides to create an undead apocalypse.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He builds technology that empowers and amplifies supernatural entities.
- Geek Physiques: He's on the heavyset side, and remarks that if he'd known how being muscular and strong felt he would have worked out more.
- Groin Attack: Is on the receiving end of one from the Ghostbusters in his giant ghost form.
- Hypocrite: Constantly rants about how shitty the world and its people are, when he's no better himself.
- Kaiju: His final form is a gigantic city-smashing Bedsheet Ghost.
- Logo Joke: Rowan deliberately invokes this by doodling a Darker and Edgier version of the Ghostbusters' emblem with More Teeth than the Osmond Family. After ditching Kevin's body, his ghost asks what form he should take. On Patty's suggestion that he be cute and cuddly, Rowan manifests as a cartoony version of their logo.
- Loophole Abuse: After Patty tries to outwit him by using his "you choose the form I will take" to trick him into taking on a cute and cuddly form, he realizes she didn't specify against him customizing it, and takes the form of the Ghostbusters' cute logo before becoming a gigantic, monstrous version.
- Loners Are Freaks: It's even lampshaded how "it's always the pale loner".
- Madness Mantra: He has a habit of repeating his plan to himself in three phrases.Rowan: Charge the lines. Create the vortex. Break the barrier.
- Mad Scientist: As an Evil Counterpart to the Ghostbusters, of course he's this; creating devices to amplify ghostly activity and then flood the world with ghosts. He gets props for doing so while on a janitor's salary.
- Meaningful Name: Rowan is a tree regarded in mythology for its ability to repel and control metaphysical entities, including spirits. North is the direction of the damned.
- Misanthrope Supreme: Wishes to inflict a ghostly Apocalypse How upon NYC and the world because he hates mankind. Becoming a ghost is an explicit part of his plan.
- Mundane Utility: What does he use his powers for? Making the police and soldiers strike a "Staying Alive" Dance Pose... and in the end credits, join him in an elaborate dance routine while playing with the end credits.
- My Death Is Only The Beginning: The whole or part of the basis pertaining to his plan. By electrocuting himself with his own machine he manages to become the ghost leader of the undead. Imbibing on the energies of the portal he created to become a colossal milk white megageist to take revenge on the world and humanity as a whole.
- Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: His copy of Erin and Abby's book. The drawings in it detail his plan to commit suicide and become the leader of the ghost army.
- No Social Skills: A dark example. He frequently comes off as weird, off-putting and discomforting to the people he's surrounded by... and hates them all immensely because they reject him because of it.
- Omnicidal Maniac: He wants to wipe out mankind and possibly all of civilization.
- One-Winged Angel: Rowan uses the portal's energy to transform into a grotesque kaiju-sized version of the Ghostbusters' logo, referred to as "Rowan the Destroyer" by merchandise, and rampages through Manhattan.
- Post Modern Magick: His specialty, using technology to control, conjure, and empower ghosts, including himself.
- Roger Rabbit Effect: Briefly becomes an animated version of the Ghostbusters logo before going One-Winged Angel.
- Shadow Archetype: He is basically what Abby and Erin might have become if they hadn't found friends in each other and let their bitterness at the world consume them.
- Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: As the main villain, adequate. His One-Winged Angel form shows up in one of the later shorts.
- Steampunk Gadgeteers: Creates a Magitek ghost-channeling machine.
- Super Smoke: Before manifesting as the Ghostbusters' logo, his ghost form is a vaguely humanoid luminous white mist.
- Up, Up and Away!: Is embarrassed at first that he flies like Peter Pan but then decides to roll with it.
- Villain Respect: When the Ghostbusters start pushing back against the ghost army, he seems surprised when he notes, "Impressive."
- Volleying Insults: While fighting the Ghostbusters, he trades quips with them.
- Walking Spoiler: It's hard to describe his actions without spoiling the movie.
Gertrude Aldridge
Getrude Aldridge
Played By: Bess Rous
The first ghost in the film. In life, she was locked in the family basement to avoid a scandal after she killed all the servants.
- Ax-Crazy: Stabbing all your family's servants to death in their sleep qualifies.
- Expy: Her role is virtually the same as the Library Ghost from Ghostbusters (1984), although her background has more of a Lizzie Borden vibe.
- Game Face: When she attacks, her face transforms into a desiccated skull.
- Kubrick Stare: Constantly sports a menacing Psychotic Smirk, even in her portrait and as a ghost.
- Madwoman in the Attic: After she murdered the family servants, her father locked her in the basement, where she eventually died.
- Mind over Matter: Telekinetically controls several objects, including throwing a tour guide around like a rag doll.
- Volumetric Mouth: The mouth used for vomiting is easily much larger than a regular human one.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: She projectile-vomits ectoplasm onto Erin.
- Zombie Puke Attack: She slimes Erin by vomiting a torrent of ectoplasm.
Mayhem
Mayhem
A winged, demonic ghost that first appears possessing a mannequin.
- All Part of the Show: The crowd and even the band onstage think he's a special effect at first.
- All There in the Manual: His name comes from his action figure.
- Bat Out of Hell: Looks like a demonic bat, and was at one point scared off by a man screaming like a little girl.
- Big Red Devil: He looks like a stereotypical demon, only he's green and has prehensile toes instead of hooves. The metal band's lead singer even mistakes him for Satan.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He's the only ghost explicitly shown to kill a human being on-screen, and also happens to be the only one explicitly shredded rather than just trapped, beaten into submission, or banished.
- Murderous Mannequin: First appears to the Ghostbusters hiding inside one. Then the girls destroy the wooden body and the demon form breaks out.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Most of the ghosts in the film resemble dead humans. He however looks like a demonic bat. It's implied that he's the furious ghost of the legendary bat that got its head bitten off by Ozzy Osbourne in 1982.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: In contrast to his green skin and aura, he has some pretty terrifying red eyes that glow like hot coals.
- Sickly Green Glow: One a shade lighter than Slimer, possibly to show he's really mean instead of
Chaotic Neutral.
Sparky
Sparky the Electrocuted Ghost
Played By: Dave Allen
The spirit of an electrocuted inmate in a former death row above the subway.
- Jacob Marley Apparel: Still wearing the inmate costumes.
- Mythology Gag:
- Of the Scoleri Brothers from Ghostbusters II. He was also sentenced to death in the electric chair.
- His name also might allude to a now-abandoned mobile game for the original movie where one of Egon's old patients decided to get back at him as a ghost. He was nicknamed "Sparky" by the Ghostbusters.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes have an intense red glowing that makes him noticeable in the darkness in contrast with his translucent body.
- Shock and Awe: Being the ghost of a man killed in the electric chair and floating above the electric conducting subway rails, he emits a series of sparks.
Other Characters
Kevin Beckman
Kevin Beckman
Played By: Chris Hemsworth
A very, very stupid but very, very pretty aspiring actor who is hired as the team's secretary.
- Brainless Beauty: In contrast to Janine, who was the Only Sane Man in the original film, he's just here to look pretty. Fittingly, he's an aspiring actor (though he doesn't seem to have any luck getting gigs).
- Demonic Possession: Serves as Rowan's vessel leading up the climax.
- The Ditz: Bless him, but as gifted as Kevin is physically, the pendulum swings hard in the other direction when it comes to his brains (specifically his lack thereof). When he's asked not to listen to a conversation, he covers his eyes. It's a miracle he remembers to breathe, though he does know how to ride a motorcycle.
- Ditzy Secretary: A male version, and he's so ditzy that he can't even answer the phone properly.
- Does Not Like Spam: Kevin hates coffee, although he only remembers this after he's taken a sip and spat it out. Twice.
- Dumb Muscle: How he's treated by Rowan post-possession. After using him as manual labor to rebuild his machine, Rowan simply gives his body back to the Ghostbusters due to Kevin's lack of intelligence.Rowan: You know what? You can have him. I can feel myself getting dumber the longer I'm in here anyway.
- Dumber Than They Look: He wears glasses in order to look smart, but is completely ditzy and inept (often doing things like covering his eyes so that he couldn't "hear" the girls talk privately, covering his eyes when he bangs a loud cymbal and the noise hurts his ears, suggesting logos for the ghostbusters that are already in use and copyrighted like the 7-11 symbol and a hotdog)
- Foil: To his original universe counterpart, Janine Melnitz. Janine had to deal with the eccentricities of the Ghostbusters daily, was a Deadpan Snarker who approached her work with dry wit and most importantly was a competent secretary. Kevin on the other hand is a gender inverted Sexy Secretary with the brainpower of a fish who's utterly useless at his job due to his stupidity and is only kept around because he's handsome. Otherwise he's The Load at best and Lethally Stupid at worst.
- Hired for Their Looks: Erin outright says he's good to have around and look at, much to Abby's confusion. That and the fact that there was nobody else left to hire.
- Hunk: Comes with being played by Chris Hemsworth. Rowan says that he should have worked out more in life after easily overpowering the guys guarding his machine, and completing it, thanks to Kevin's good shape.
- Jerkass: Although quite loveable, he can be a bit of a self-absorbed himbo, and the Ghostbusters are easily exasperated with him.
- Land Down Under: Possibly from there, given he speaks with an Australian Accent. The manual of the LEGO set also says that he hails from "a small town outside of Sydney".
- Lethally Stupid: His stupidity in getting possessed ends up nearly causing the end of the world.
- The Load: The only thing he's good at is being eye candy. He can't even answer phones correctly. Even Erin, the only Ghostbuster to show any attraction to him, is reluctant to actually hire him as their secretary until she learns that he's the only applicant.
- Mr. Fanservice: Even in-universe, he's mostly there because Erin finds him gorgeous.
- The One Guy: Although whether or not he even contributes enough to be considered a part of the team is debatable, he's the only male affiliated with the Ghostbusters.
- Purely Aesthetic Glasses: They don't even have lenses! It's left to the viewer to wonder if he actually needs them or if he wears them while pursuing roles.
- Right-Hand Hottie: A gender-flipped Sexy Secretary for the Ghostbusters.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Beautiful!: A minor example; he doesn't really pull the trope much himself, but it is all but outright stated that he's pretty much able to coast through life on his looks.
- Sexy Secretary: A gender-flipped version. He got his job primarily because of Erin liking the eye candy and a lack of any other candidates.
- Skewed Priorities: What was he doing while The Ghostbusters were risking their lives? Buying a goddamn sandwich.
- The Team Wannabe: He tries to become a Ghostbuster after Erin leaves; he fails miserably.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: After Patty manages to exorcise Rowan out of Abby, he presents himself as a more suitable host.
- Who's on First?: Has a dog named "Mike Hat"; when this comes up in his interview, they think he's talking about a cat.
Mayor Bradley
Mayor Bradley
Played By: Andy García
The mayor of New York City, who publicly insists the Ghostbusters are frauds while secretly supporting them.
- Berserk Button: Being compared to the mayor from Jaws, for some reason.Mayor Bradley: Never compare me to the Jaws mayor, NEVER!
- Friend on the Force: To the Ghostbusters by giving him funding, though he is publicly against them.
- Mayor Pain: He's not this in a general sense, as he actually is aware of the paranormal dangers facing the city and is trying to do something to address it, however misguided or ineffectual. However, he is this specifically to our heroes, as part of his attempts to address it involves discrediting them as frauds, having them arrested and ignoring their attempts to help. This is lampshaded in the scene where Erin tries to persuade him that the city is in peril, as her off-the-cuff comparison to the mayor in Jaws sends him into a tantrum.
- Plausible Deniability: Supports the Ghostbusters secretly but publicly insists they're frauds.
- What You Are in the Dark: In public, he denounces the Ghostbusters as con-artists who can't be trusted. In private, he bankrolls their business as he realizes that they're the cities' only legitimate way of combating paranormal dangers.
Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Lynch
Played By: Cecily Strong
The mayor's assistant and liaison to the Ghostbusters.
- Frame-Up: While the Mayor secretly funds the Ghostbusters, Jennifer's job is to loudly and vehemently denounce them as sad, pathetic charlatans desperate for fame and attention.
- Friend on the Force: To the Ghostbusters, along with the mayor himself, at the end of the film. They (privately) fund the Ghostbusters so they can all be prepared for the next ghostly threat.
- Hypocrite: Sort of; her whole job in the movie is to disdain and belittle the Ghostbusters as attention-seeking frauds despite knowing full well that they're actually doing genuine work. While she is legitimately Just Following Orders in this case, she doesn't really show any qualms about doing so and her overall personality tends to come across as rather insincere and two-faced.
- Implausible Deniability: She continues to deny the existence of the supernatural and denounce the Ghostbusters as sad, pathetic frauds even after Rowan's attack the city.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Like Peck and Hardemeyer she is trying to give a bad image towards the Ghostbusters in the public, even though she secretly acknowledges their work.
- Plausible Deniability: Much like her boss, she supports the Ghostbusters secretly but publicly insists they're frauds.
- Smug Snake: A rare (sort of) benevolent example. While in private she knows the Ghostbusters are the genuine article, her public role as The Face of the Mayor's administration is to demean and belittle them, a task she never really shows much regret for or issue with. Her overall personality, while not really malicious, also tends to come across as a bit smarmy, insincere and self-satisfied.
- Took a Level in Kindness: At the end of the film she appears to have warmed to the team a little when she informs them that they will now be fully funded.
Harold Filmore
Harold Filmore
Played By: Charles Dance Foreign VAs
The head of the physics department at Columbia University who is reviewing Erin's case for tenure.
- Deadpan Snarker: The majority of his lines are incredibly dry.
- Dean Bitterman: Downplayed, as he's not out to make Erin's life miserable, but he is a condescending, stuffy jackass.
- Evil Old Folks: Downplayed as he's not evil, but he is a jackass who publicly humiliates Erin (twice if you count a deleted scene).
- Humiliation Conga: Appears fond of inflicting humiliation on his professors who fail to meet his expectations.
- I Have No Son!: A variation occurs in the Extended Cut where after Erin punches a guy for harassing her, Filmore goes on TV to publicly denounce any ties Colombia has with Erin.
- Jerkass Has a Point: It's a bit fair to see why he fired Erin the first time since she still didn't have concrete proof of her findings. The public humiliation? Not so much.
- Laser-Guided Karma: A minor case, but after his dismissive and skeptical attitude towards Erin and her paranormal research, he ends up getting attacked by one of the ghosts unleashed in the mayhem at the climax.
- Pet the Dog:
- In the midst of his first scene with Erin, which is spent intimidating her and dangling tenure over her head, he admits that he thinks Erin is a "gift" to the field of physics.
- An astonishingly cruel subversion of this occurs in a deleted scene. Erin has returned to Colombia with her legitimate findings about the paranormal, and Filmore appears impressed, and openly praises her for her work and offers her a well-paying tenure position. Then security guards arrive to escort Erin out, and Filmore reveals he was just stalling until they got there to drag her out.
Extended Cut
Phil Hudson
Phil Hudson
Played By: Justin Kirk
Erin's neglectful, self-loving boyfriend. He is only seen in the Extended Cut.
- Aborted Arc: Erin's break-up with him was deleted from the film, though it nevertheless adds to her character arc of growing out of the need for approval from people.
- Domestic Abuse: The emotional variant. In their first scene together, Phil is introducing Erin to some renowned colleague and subtly chipping away at Erin if she does something even a little out of line according to him. It's clear that he is part of the reason Erin is so self-conscious and neurotic. When she's being evicted from the university, Phil completely ignores her and turns his back to her, refusing to try to stick up for her on the basis of saving his own ass.
- Hate Sink: There's basically nothing likeable about him that we see, and he exists solely to be a smug, condescending jackass who treats Erin like dirt.
- Hypocrite: After ignoring Erin and turning his back on her after she gets fired, when confronting her later he has the gall to get offended over the fact that she's been ignoring his texts and calls.
- It's All About Me: He treats Erin as little better than a trophy wife, and after he pulls the stunt of literally turning his back to her when she's fired and humiliated by the dean, he has the nerve to demand why Erin has ignored his texts and calls. When confronted about his stunt, Phil says he couldn't let Erin bring him down with her.
- Jerkass: A slimy, narcissistic jackass who belittles Erin to make himself look good.
Cameo Characters
Martin Heiss
Martin Heiss
Played By: Bill Murray
A scientist who specializes in debunking claims of paranormal activity.
- Accidental Misnaming: When he visits the Ghostbusters, Kevin introduces him as "Smartin Christ".
- Agent Scully: Gained his fame as a "debunker" of the supernatural.
- Chalk Outline: The "Casper" Deleted Scene shows his outline, including his cane and hat.
- Destination Defenestration: Immediately upon being released, Mayhem tosses him out the Ghostbusters' window. It's not shown how badly injured he was, but from the Ghostbusters' reactions it wasn't pretty. (The real world version of Abby and Erin's book has a foreword by Heiss where he acknowledges that he died and is writing the revised edition's foreword as a ghost.)
- Expy: Of Walter Peck from the original film. He's a Smug Snake Hate Sink who results in a ghost escaping the Ghostbusters' custody.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: Nobody ever brings up Heiss' defenestration in the film.
- Hate Sink: He has nothing to do with the main plot of the film, he's just there to be a thorn in the Ghostbusters' side.
- Remake Cameo: For Bill Murray, one of the original Ghostbusters.
- Uncertain Doom: The theatrical cut of the movie doesn't make it clear whether he survived his fall out of the window or not.
- A Deleted Scene shows his Chalk Outline outside but was removed to leave it vague whether he survived or not.
- A newspaper headlines in the extended edition mentions he was hospitalised and changed his opinions on ghosts.
- Nancy Holder's novelization mentions the ambulance drove away with its sirens blaring, meaning he was still alive at that stage.
- He wrote a forward to Erin's defictionalised Ghosts From Our Past book where he complains about his medical expenses. Word of God says that Heiss was originally supposed to be writing as a ghost and that he forgot to remove a joke about Heiss being a ghost on page 17.
- A
The Cabbie
The Cabbie
Played By: Dan Aykroyd
A cab driver Erin asks for help.
- Fantastically Indifferent: The cabbie who Erin tries to hail at the climax seems remarkably unfazed by the hordes of ectoplasmic abominations attacking New York and seems to object primarily to taking her into Chinatown over anything else.
- Hidden Depths: He may just be a New York cab driver, but he's able to correctly identify the type of ghosts rampaging across the city.
- Mythology Gag: Ray Stantz saying, "I ain't afraid of no ghost."
- No Name Given: Just credited as "The Cabbie".
- Remake Cameo: For Dan Aykroyd, one of the original Ghostbusters.
- Unfazed Everyman: He's unconcerned about all the ghosts swarming the city and even describes them by a scientifically accurate term.
Uncle Bill
Uncle Bill
Played By: Ernie Hudson
Patty's uncle, a funeral director who lends the Ghostbusters the hearse that becomes the Ecto-1.
- Exact Words: Initially misinterprets "the Other Side" (of the spiritual plane, as in where his hearse wound up) as referring to New Jersey (the "other side" of the East River).
- The Precious, Precious Car: He only lent the Ghostbusters his hearse, not knowing that they'd heavily modify it and send it through a portal to another dimension.
- Remake Cameo: For Ernie Hudson, one of the original Ghostbusters.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Due to his job as a funeral director, he wears a somber black suit.
Rebecca Gorin
Rebecca Gorin
Played By: Sigourney Weaver
Jillian Holtzmann's mentor who comes to help them in their new headquarters.
- Anime Hair: Gorin sports messy hair much like her former student. Probably Holtzmann's fashion inspiration too.
- Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment: In the IDW comics of the film, Peter immediately noticed she was that dimension's version of Dana Barrett.
- Generation Xerox: Bird's nest hair, ridiculous fashion sense complemented by oversized Labcoat of Science and Medicine, "Screw U" jewelry (brooch vs. necklace), unusual wear of rubber gloves, complete disregard for safety regulations... yep, Holtzmann is a Gen Xerox of Gorin, despite the latter being a mentor figure rather than a parent.
- Noodle Incident: Peter asked her if she was ever turned into a dog. Gorin replied she never experimented with those sorts of pharmaceuticals, the two then joked about the "other kinds".
- Remake Cameo: She is played by Sigourney Weaver, who portrayed Dana Barrett in the two films of the original duology.
