Here at IGN we occasionally like to showcase something from geekdom’s rich history — a pop-culture Time Capsule, if you will, that gives us a peek in to the past, perhaps providing a new appreciation for previous projects.
If you’d like, please check out the past few Time Capsules:
- George Lucas’ first day writing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- The Rock kicking Seven of Nine’s Borg butt on Star Trek: Voyager
- The Tom Waits interview that may have inspired Heath Ledger’s Joker
- Christian Bale auditioning in Val Kilmer’s batsuit from Batman Forever
- Kevin Feige’s 2006 tease for the Avengers and the MCU
If one thing still holds true after 30 years, if one universal constant still remains, it’s that bustin’ makes us feel good.
Once upon a time, a quartet of unlikely heroes stopped – nay! – busted a battalion of ghouls and ghosts, preventing them from turning New York City into, well, to be honest, a much nicer and friendlier place.
Their first challenge was to defeat a shapeshifting, apocalyptic entity named Gozer. They got covered in goo. Then, a few years later, they vanquished a seemingly-immortal 16th century tyrant using a river of pink slime that had formed in the sewers. They got covered in goo again. Then… these champions vanished. When the gooing got tough, the tough got gooing.
But did you know that phantom menacers Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore were close to having one last ride about 20 years ago? Yes, Ghostbusters creator and star Dan Aykroyd wrote a full Ghostbusters III script, subtitled Hellbent, back in 1999. And the story put the Ghostbusters in the crosshairs of… Satan himself!
Usually, with these Time Capsules, there’s a fun little video component. Nothing like that exists for this particular slice of retrovertigo, but here’s a look at the screenplay in all its “dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria” glory…
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So then what was Hellbent all about? IGN actually made grabby hands at the screenplay back in 2002 with an exclusive script review. At the time, we didn’t give out too many spoilers, since the movie was only in the sixth concentric circle of Development Hell, but now, with Ghostbusters: Afterlife serving as a direct franchise sequel, we can dig into the Hellbent plot a bit more.
The place? New York City. The people? Still WALKIN HERE!
Hell, which is a darkened mirror version of NYC called “ManHELLton,” has become overstuffed and congested. So much so that, like actual heartless Big Apple landlords, it’s evicting people. Those cursed souls then make their way back into the world of the living. The Ghostbusters, now a few years removed from their museum showdown with Vigo the Carpathian, slip-slide into Hell and confront the Devil – who is presented as a smarmy business mogul named Mr. Sifler. Luke Sifler. Lu-cifer. I think you get it. Don’t get it? It’s Lucifer. Got it now? Good.
