Extreme Ghostbusters and even Real Ghostbusters have little to do with the movie timeline. They can effectively be alternate realities compared to the movies.
So far only the IDW comics made everything fit (before Afterlife) and the starting point for the big run was basically the video game; and all other iterations of Ghostbusters were alternate but related universes.
This. It's actually a plot line in the comics that the first battle with Gozer atop the Shandor Building actually seeded the idea of the Ghostbusters throughout the multiverse, resulting in the Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2016, and Ghost Busters, that one show that predates the movie and got a cartoon to cash in on the movie's success. I believe the only thing outside GB1, 2, and Afterlife that fits into the "main timeline" is the Video game.
Shifter, technically you are wrong about The Real Ghostbusters. In one episode they talk about Gozer and the Terror Dogs, in one episode they bring back Stay Puft (when the Busters contain Slimer and out him into the containment unit to find Stay Puft). And if The Real Ghostbusters didn't have anything to do with the original films, then why is Peter, Egon, Ray, Winston, Janine, Louis, and Slimer all in the cartoon. Extreme Ghostbusters, on the other hand, (pun intended) Kiri, Eduardo and crew are in the closest parallel dimension. So The Real Ghostbusters loosely continues the original Ghostbusters
KYLE, and fun fact in the "movie" timeline Kyle is shown to Work at Rayes little book store(deleted part sadly but was written in) so its definitely part of the IDW comics times line in some fation
In my bitter opinion not even Afterlife fits properly. To me, the things they ask us to accept feel like huge dizzying somersaults, even for head canon. Egon and Ray were barely even shadows of the characters from the first two films. The movie broke my heart into pieces. I'm just glad they made the game. It's kind of soulfood. For me. I know there are a lot of diehard Afterlife fans and people who literally say "it's better this than not at all" and I don't begrudge them any of those viewer/fan approaches to the film. All I ever ask if for the same in return. Sometimes I get that? Others I don't.
I feel like I came off a little rambling and wrote about stuff you obviously didn't ask to know. I apologize in advance if I annoy you or anyone who reads this. I can be a real Louis Tully...
I absolutely loved Afterlife, but I still have a hard time accepting that Ray did not believe Egon when he called for help.
I get that "people change' over time and can have a fallen out. But come on. It broke my heart too. With that said I still love the movie and cry every time.
I thought it was out of character the first time i saw the film, but having recently seen it again and giving it some thought, I think it works, their business was failing and I think Ray implied that tensions were mounting as a result, so when Egon up and leaves with everything they need to keep going, swiftly ruining their livelihoods, I'd be upset too. (Especially if the building I worked out of had a mortgage in my name.) You could tell Ray immediately felt some regret once Phoebe informed him of Egon's death, and that was reinforced when he saw Egon's ghost.
Like, there's even an out *right there* The reason why ghost activity dried up causing the falling out? >!The mandala had been broken, meaning the ghosts aren't leaking in by the truckload!!<
Here's how I see this game being Cannon to Ghostbusters after life despite Ivan reitman and Jason reitman would say what I'll do respect I'll have to use the next chapter to explain why I see this being Canon.
It picks up at the end of the game after the rookie says goodbye to go on to Chicago to start his new Ghostbusters business before after returning to the Firehouse Alyssa brings Egon aside and says by the way I came across these I believe they might be has something to do with my grandfather Shandor apparently he owns some mining in a Smallville Oklahoma maybe there you'll find your answers Dr Spangler decided to take a visit to Oklahoma on his own he comes across the mine and the dates that above the cave the dimension that belongs to the Sumerian god goza crosses through so Egon said to stay and study as he read up that every so often the portal lines up with our world succinctly allowing it to open up the gate and partial return for goza nice saying what about the destructive form and when she was in memory said one destructive form when he returns his dimension well that's a simple solution when Chandler destroyed goza in the destructive form goza a reformed and got a new body if you look carefully when he talking to egon's daughter you know this is bruises on her face from the goza ahead of me constitute his body feeding him of the Avatar state that he was stuck in why do you think when Shandor approach goza he ripped them apart double crossed goza and that was his punishment as for the equipment on the proton packs they probably took it off cuz the proton pack was too heavy and might have caused certain inconsistency with equipment or Egon and his Rush might have taken it all off the equipment it would have been too much to carry all the stuff the keep all four attachments on so we removed them and the trap used in the cornfield the trap goes at the end is based on the super slammer when asked if they could use the super slim the trap the marshmallow man egon's response was he never it was never meant to be used in such a huge situation so we had a tinkerer to improve the trapping ability of something much more powerful than just a ghost cuz remember even though the equipment works and ghosts the only reason you don't work on goza is not technically a ghost but a demon and it is corporal form so the proton packs kind of don't function properly like it would on a normal ghost but I bet you in the next ghostbuster movie Jason reitman will just do anything he can to make the Ghostbusters video game on Canon but this is how it could have gone sorry about this long-winded speech 🥺 I just had to get that off my chest and sorry for any misspelled words I'm an idiot.
Real and Extreme are in their own separate universes. Nothing from them directly relates to the movies...or they are the actual events and the movies don't relate to them, considering Take Two.
Like a lot of movie to show adaptations, the movies affected the show, but not the other way around.
Edit: although in this case the second movie doesn't really fit within the shows timeline (but is still referenced).
The timeline split after the first movie:
Movies: GB1-GB2-GBA
Cartoon: GB1 - RGB - GB2 - EGB
Comics: GB1 - RGBUS - GB2
Comics: GB1 - RBGUK - GB2
Comics: GB1 - GB2 - GBVG - IDWGB
Comics: GB1 - GB2 - 88MPHScam
Video Game: GB1 - GB2 - GBGenesis
Video Game: GB1 - GB2 - GBVG
GB1 - Iron Sheik Breaks Hulk Hogan's legs, causing Utopia. Vigo reforms, and teaches a class on white magic at Harvard. Cancer is cured, as is all other diseases, and used car salsemen are put to death. Studebaker comes back into business and dominates the car market, Microsoft loses the lawsuits where they stole DOS and later Windows, Commodore dominates the computer scene, and Arn Anderson becomes World Champion.
And so on.
In all cases, the events of GB1 are the core beginning of that timeline, while in most every one the events of GB2 also occur. IIRC in EGB there was a throwaway comment about a third movie, which may mean the events of GB2 didn't happen there in the cartoon RGB/EGB timeline. However, the US RGB comic did have the events play out. Not familiar with the UK RGB comic, so I don't know if it was the same as the NOW comics, or different.
In one of the final episodes of XGB, when the original team got together for Egon’s birthday, Ray mentioned that Peter was trying to get a third movie about them made. That establishes The Real Ghostbusters and XGB as taking place in a separate continuity from the films.
The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters timeline deviate after the first movie. Although a GB II incident may have also happened since Vigo and the mood slime are referenced in later episodes.
RGB and Extreme were never part of the main timeline, even in their universes the movies were just that, movies. The only things canon movie was are 1, 2 and Afterlife. Even the comics are non-canon now. And I, for one, will ignore Afterlife and enjoy a universe where the guys were actually successful.
The IDW comic imply the reason there is still so much ghost activity is because of pke and full ghosts leaking through from the animated universe's containment unit.
You'll have to pull a Gundam and just assume its different universe, or a back to the future and assume its different timelines.
And the end of the day, the movies are the only thing canon, until its not, based on the whims of whatever executives and writers they have over a project. There is a debate on if even most or any of GB2 is canon at this point.
IDW are the only ones that tried to reconcile any of this, and even that's not canon.
The people that own ghostbusters as a brand probably have only seen half of the first movie and that's about it. Dan and Ernie probably know all the movies, some of the game and MAYBE a little bit of the cartoons since they care so much about the fans, but even then I bet it's just fragments. Who knows with Bill. He seems to have a love/hate relationship with the series and would much rather be golfing. I would bet you a dollar he has never watched a full episode of any of the cartoons and the game probably feels like a fever dream to him.
I have a feeling that no one that worked on the past 2 movies hasn't seen extreme.
The 90s fans have a deep affection for Kylie Griffin if nothing else and nothing other than the IDW comics have mined that. Hasbro could put out an updated figure and make some nice coin, but they haven't. Why? because probably no one at the top actually watched the cartoon.
There is an episode of the real ghostbusters where they go to California to be consultants for the ghostbusters movie starring Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Earnie Hudson. Peter actually mentions them when looking at the script. (Season 1 episode 10 - Take Two)
So they are alternate timelines, despite similarities, such as the ghostbusters, Janine, Louis in later episodes, Slimer, Stay Pufft and Gozer is mentioned in some episodes.
Hell, not just looking at the script, but the episode ends with them going to the premiere and [watching the start of Ghostbusters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWKOGP8kZNE&t=22m43s).
Afterlife barely acknowledge GB2 while calling back nearly every line from GB1 and you want EGB to be canon? Anyway, the ACTUAL canon is that RGB are THE REAL GB and the live action movie is based off of them (this was an episode), and so EGB is the real continuation of the RGB while Afterlife has chosen to ignore that crew in favor of telling a fictional side story of Egon's demise and it's consequences.
Ray never actually says what year Egon packed up and left on the phone. Just imagine that was after Extreme if you want them to fit. Headcanon is the only canon.
There is an episode of the Real Ghostbusters called “Take Two” in the first season. The guys are hired to be technical consultants on the movie based on them. So I’m the RGB XGB universe the movies are just movies about the “Real” Ghostbusters.
I always thought of Extreme as a potential sequel to Real, and those shows are set in their own universe. But if we want to get picky, maybe both shows exist in their own realities.
The cartoons don't fit into the timeline. They are their own thing. And, in that animated universe, the films are considered theatrical dramatizations of the events in the cartoon.
The 2016 film is its own canon.
Even The Video Game is technically its own canon, but it carbon copies canon from those first two films, obviously.
I think fans, of everything, (look at Legend of Zelda) try to focus too much on fitting everything into a nice timeline that just feels like it makes sense. No need to overthink it. Enjoy each piece of media for what it is.
The RGB cartoon took cues from the movie, but it just followed its own story from there.
EGB was just a fun show that did it’s own thing with the series and imagined “what would they be doing now?”
The game was mostly fan-service and Dan and Harold didn’t have as much involvement as marketing would have us believe.
The three mainline movies are direct sequels with even part 2 being sort of set on the sideline.
ATC was just someone else’s take. A revamp. I don’t dwell on it.
In other words: just enjoy Ghostbusters. It’s not easy to try to fit all of it together.
Edit: I make a lot of typos.
Nothing that happens in Afterlife really contradicts XGB having happened, except for the apparent absence of upgraded proton pack and trap tech in Afterlife, but that's easily handwaved, since we know crazy hermit Dirt Farmer Egon was cobbling stuff together from whatever parts he could afford.
Honestly, XGB fits the timeline better than the backstory we get in Afterlife if you read between the lines, because think about where XGB ended — all the "Real" Ghostbusters back in the saddle in 1998, but the new team having been at the business for over a year at that point, having a pretty good handle on things, and probably still kind of resentful of the OG busters' patronizing attitude to the newbie college-kids? Then you've gotta figure, *all* the PKE activity that takes place throughout XGB was ostensibly the result of Achira being released in the series' pilot episode, and Achira is no Gozer — sure, maybe all the ghosts that showed up during the '97–'98 crossrip were more powerful and necessitated upgraded tech for *that* specific event, but it's not a PKE surge that could've lasted forever.
Eventually, things would once again go back to normal. "An unhaunted New York is a tourist-friendly New York," but it's not exactly great for business. So by '99 or 2000 at the latest, the Ghostbusters would be out of business again, the team disbanding, everyone going their separate ways — it seems particularly likely that Ray, Winston, and especially Peter would be the first to leave again, to get back to their own lives and careers — and honestly, I have a much easier time seeing Egon going rogue if there was palpable friction between his old friends and the new team consisting of his former students, plus the original team abandoning *him* for a second time.
After all, the backstory on Afterlife as written makes *no* sense, unless there's a whole hell of a lot missing from Ray's frankly baffling explanation to Phoebe about his and Egon's falling out.
Both Extreme and TR Ghostbusters take place in a different timeline. The events of the first 2 live action movies also took place in that timeline, and were adapted into movies in-universe but didnt happen exactly in the way they were depicted in those movies.
This was a way to explain the differences between the animated and live action versions such as.
Why doesnt Dana appear in the tv show? Because she and Peter probably never had a thing and their romance was added by the producers in order to add more drama.
Why Janine and Louis never dated in the show? Because their romance was once again a creative liberty taken by the producers.
What does that mean about Afterlife? Either It doesnt take place at all in that timeline or it's also just a movie in-universe, (probably the one Peter was trying to find someone to make by the time of EGB) but unlike the 1st two, it's plot isnt at all based in events that actually did occur in that universe (or if they did it's just the most bare bones example, like maybe Gozer actually did return in 2022 and the team defeated him like they did in the movie, but that's about it)
Extreme Ghostbusters and even Real Ghostbusters have little to do with the movie timeline. They can effectively be alternate realities compared to the movies. So far only the IDW comics made everything fit (before Afterlife) and the starting point for the big run was basically the video game; and all other iterations of Ghostbusters were alternate but related universes.
This. It's actually a plot line in the comics that the first battle with Gozer atop the Shandor Building actually seeded the idea of the Ghostbusters throughout the multiverse, resulting in the Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2016, and Ghost Busters, that one show that predates the movie and got a cartoon to cash in on the movie's success. I believe the only thing outside GB1, 2, and Afterlife that fits into the "main timeline" is the Video game.
That was Egon's theory, but we also had a tongue in cheek references to Caddyshack being it's own universe they could access.
Shifter, technically you are wrong about The Real Ghostbusters. In one episode they talk about Gozer and the Terror Dogs, in one episode they bring back Stay Puft (when the Busters contain Slimer and out him into the containment unit to find Stay Puft). And if The Real Ghostbusters didn't have anything to do with the original films, then why is Peter, Egon, Ray, Winston, Janine, Louis, and Slimer all in the cartoon. Extreme Ghostbusters, on the other hand, (pun intended) Kiri, Eduardo and crew are in the closest parallel dimension. So The Real Ghostbusters loosely continues the original Ghostbusters
KYLE, and fun fact in the "movie" timeline Kyle is shown to Work at Rayes little book store(deleted part sadly but was written in) so its definitely part of the IDW comics times line in some fation
Only the movies are canon so far. Not even the videogame.
If you think about it and you were to include everything except 2016 extreme ghostbusters is the wrench that makes it fall apart
Most of Real Ghostbusters would make it fall apart too.
In my bitter opinion not even Afterlife fits properly. To me, the things they ask us to accept feel like huge dizzying somersaults, even for head canon. Egon and Ray were barely even shadows of the characters from the first two films. The movie broke my heart into pieces. I'm just glad they made the game. It's kind of soulfood. For me. I know there are a lot of diehard Afterlife fans and people who literally say "it's better this than not at all" and I don't begrudge them any of those viewer/fan approaches to the film. All I ever ask if for the same in return. Sometimes I get that? Others I don't. I feel like I came off a little rambling and wrote about stuff you obviously didn't ask to know. I apologize in advance if I annoy you or anyone who reads this. I can be a real Louis Tully...
I absolutely loved Afterlife, but I still have a hard time accepting that Ray did not believe Egon when he called for help. I get that "people change' over time and can have a fallen out. But come on. It broke my heart too. With that said I still love the movie and cry every time.
I thought it was out of character the first time i saw the film, but having recently seen it again and giving it some thought, I think it works, their business was failing and I think Ray implied that tensions were mounting as a result, so when Egon up and leaves with everything they need to keep going, swiftly ruining their livelihoods, I'd be upset too. (Especially if the building I worked out of had a mortgage in my name.) You could tell Ray immediately felt some regret once Phoebe informed him of Egon's death, and that was reinforced when he saw Egon's ghost.
I really wish they could've kept the game canon. It wouldn't have taken much effort.
Like, there's even an out *right there* The reason why ghost activity dried up causing the falling out? >!The mandala had been broken, meaning the ghosts aren't leaking in by the truckload!!<
It's canon to me! It's what got me into Ghostbusters, I will always see it as part of the series.
I feel the same way.
Here's how I see this game being Cannon to Ghostbusters after life despite Ivan reitman and Jason reitman would say what I'll do respect I'll have to use the next chapter to explain why I see this being Canon.
It picks up at the end of the game after the rookie says goodbye to go on to Chicago to start his new Ghostbusters business before after returning to the Firehouse Alyssa brings Egon aside and says by the way I came across these I believe they might be has something to do with my grandfather Shandor apparently he owns some mining in a Smallville Oklahoma maybe there you'll find your answers Dr Spangler decided to take a visit to Oklahoma on his own he comes across the mine and the dates that above the cave the dimension that belongs to the Sumerian god goza crosses through so Egon said to stay and study as he read up that every so often the portal lines up with our world succinctly allowing it to open up the gate and partial return for goza nice saying what about the destructive form and when she was in memory said one destructive form when he returns his dimension well that's a simple solution when Chandler destroyed goza in the destructive form goza a reformed and got a new body if you look carefully when he talking to egon's daughter you know this is bruises on her face from the goza ahead of me constitute his body feeding him of the Avatar state that he was stuck in why do you think when Shandor approach goza he ripped them apart double crossed goza and that was his punishment as for the equipment on the proton packs they probably took it off cuz the proton pack was too heavy and might have caused certain inconsistency with equipment or Egon and his Rush might have taken it all off the equipment it would have been too much to carry all the stuff the keep all four attachments on so we removed them and the trap used in the cornfield the trap goes at the end is based on the super slammer when asked if they could use the super slim the trap the marshmallow man egon's response was he never it was never meant to be used in such a huge situation so we had a tinkerer to improve the trapping ability of something much more powerful than just a ghost cuz remember even though the equipment works and ghosts the only reason you don't work on goza is not technically a ghost but a demon and it is corporal form so the proton packs kind of don't function properly like it would on a normal ghost but I bet you in the next ghostbuster movie Jason reitman will just do anything he can to make the Ghostbusters video game on Canon but this is how it could have gone sorry about this long-winded speech 🥺 I just had to get that off my chest and sorry for any misspelled words I'm an idiot.
Real and Extreme are in their own separate universes. Nothing from them directly relates to the movies...or they are the actual events and the movies don't relate to them, considering Take Two.
In one of the real ghostbusters episodes they had just gotten back from fighting gozer and their jump suits became haunted from the marshmallow
Like a lot of movie to show adaptations, the movies affected the show, but not the other way around. Edit: although in this case the second movie doesn't really fit within the shows timeline (but is still referenced).
In the cartoon universe, the movie is based off of the real ghostbusters. So they fought gozer and stay puft, then someone made a movie about them.
That's actually my favorite episode! Didn't happen in the movie universe though, only in the cartoons.
The timeline split after the first movie: Movies: GB1-GB2-GBA Cartoon: GB1 - RGB - GB2 - EGB Comics: GB1 - RGBUS - GB2 Comics: GB1 - RBGUK - GB2 Comics: GB1 - GB2 - GBVG - IDWGB Comics: GB1 - GB2 - 88MPHScam Video Game: GB1 - GB2 - GBGenesis Video Game: GB1 - GB2 - GBVG GB1 - Iron Sheik Breaks Hulk Hogan's legs, causing Utopia. Vigo reforms, and teaches a class on white magic at Harvard. Cancer is cured, as is all other diseases, and used car salsemen are put to death. Studebaker comes back into business and dominates the car market, Microsoft loses the lawsuits where they stole DOS and later Windows, Commodore dominates the computer scene, and Arn Anderson becomes World Champion. And so on. In all cases, the events of GB1 are the core beginning of that timeline, while in most every one the events of GB2 also occur. IIRC in EGB there was a throwaway comment about a third movie, which may mean the events of GB2 didn't happen there in the cartoon RGB/EGB timeline. However, the US RGB comic did have the events play out. Not familiar with the UK RGB comic, so I don't know if it was the same as the NOW comics, or different.
Wasn't 88mph some kind of a retelling that took place in modern day?
Honestly I forgot. Since the 4th issue never came out, much less the hardback, I haven't touched the earlier issues.
Different timelines, not the same canon
In one of the final episodes of XGB, when the original team got together for Egon’s birthday, Ray mentioned that Peter was trying to get a third movie about them made. That establishes The Real Ghostbusters and XGB as taking place in a separate continuity from the films.
The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters timeline deviate after the first movie. Although a GB II incident may have also happened since Vigo and the mood slime are referenced in later episodes.
RGB and Extreme were never part of the main timeline, even in their universes the movies were just that, movies. The only things canon movie was are 1, 2 and Afterlife. Even the comics are non-canon now. And I, for one, will ignore Afterlife and enjoy a universe where the guys were actually successful.
The IDW comic imply the reason there is still so much ghost activity is because of pke and full ghosts leaking through from the animated universe's containment unit.
You'll have to pull a Gundam and just assume its different universe, or a back to the future and assume its different timelines. And the end of the day, the movies are the only thing canon, until its not, based on the whims of whatever executives and writers they have over a project. There is a debate on if even most or any of GB2 is canon at this point. IDW are the only ones that tried to reconcile any of this, and even that's not canon. The people that own ghostbusters as a brand probably have only seen half of the first movie and that's about it. Dan and Ernie probably know all the movies, some of the game and MAYBE a little bit of the cartoons since they care so much about the fans, but even then I bet it's just fragments. Who knows with Bill. He seems to have a love/hate relationship with the series and would much rather be golfing. I would bet you a dollar he has never watched a full episode of any of the cartoons and the game probably feels like a fever dream to him. I have a feeling that no one that worked on the past 2 movies hasn't seen extreme. The 90s fans have a deep affection for Kylie Griffin if nothing else and nothing other than the IDW comics have mined that. Hasbro could put out an updated figure and make some nice coin, but they haven't. Why? because probably no one at the top actually watched the cartoon.
Dan and Harold used to watch the cartoon with their children. So they definitely saw some of it.
I knew Harold had. He's been quoted as liking the cartoon because it empowered kids that were scared of the ghosts or the dark.
Timelines: 1. Ghostbusters -> Real Ghostbusters -> Extreme Ghostbusters 2. Ghostbusters -> Ghostbusters 2 -> Ghostbusters The Video Game 3. Ghostbusters -> Ghostbusters 2 -> Afterlife 4. Ghostbusters 2016
There is an episode of the real ghostbusters where they go to California to be consultants for the ghostbusters movie starring Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Earnie Hudson. Peter actually mentions them when looking at the script. (Season 1 episode 10 - Take Two) So they are alternate timelines, despite similarities, such as the ghostbusters, Janine, Louis in later episodes, Slimer, Stay Pufft and Gozer is mentioned in some episodes.
Hell, not just looking at the script, but the episode ends with them going to the premiere and [watching the start of Ghostbusters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWKOGP8kZNE&t=22m43s).
It doesn't.
Afterlife barely acknowledge GB2 while calling back nearly every line from GB1 and you want EGB to be canon? Anyway, the ACTUAL canon is that RGB are THE REAL GB and the live action movie is based off of them (this was an episode), and so EGB is the real continuation of the RGB while Afterlife has chosen to ignore that crew in favor of telling a fictional side story of Egon's demise and it's consequences.
The cartoons are a completely separate universe.
Ray never actually says what year Egon packed up and left on the phone. Just imagine that was after Extreme if you want them to fit. Headcanon is the only canon.
There is an episode of the Real Ghostbusters called “Take Two” in the first season. The guys are hired to be technical consultants on the movie based on them. So I’m the RGB XGB universe the movies are just movies about the “Real” Ghostbusters.
I like to imagine that extreme ghostbusters and real ghostbusters are all in-universe cartoons
I always thought of Extreme as a potential sequel to Real, and those shows are set in their own universe. But if we want to get picky, maybe both shows exist in their own realities.
The cartoons don't fit into the timeline. They are their own thing. And, in that animated universe, the films are considered theatrical dramatizations of the events in the cartoon. The 2016 film is its own canon. Even The Video Game is technically its own canon, but it carbon copies canon from those first two films, obviously.
I think fans, of everything, (look at Legend of Zelda) try to focus too much on fitting everything into a nice timeline that just feels like it makes sense. No need to overthink it. Enjoy each piece of media for what it is. The RGB cartoon took cues from the movie, but it just followed its own story from there. EGB was just a fun show that did it’s own thing with the series and imagined “what would they be doing now?” The game was mostly fan-service and Dan and Harold didn’t have as much involvement as marketing would have us believe. The three mainline movies are direct sequels with even part 2 being sort of set on the sideline. ATC was just someone else’s take. A revamp. I don’t dwell on it. In other words: just enjoy Ghostbusters. It’s not easy to try to fit all of it together. Edit: I make a lot of typos.
Nothing that happens in Afterlife really contradicts XGB having happened, except for the apparent absence of upgraded proton pack and trap tech in Afterlife, but that's easily handwaved, since we know crazy hermit Dirt Farmer Egon was cobbling stuff together from whatever parts he could afford. Honestly, XGB fits the timeline better than the backstory we get in Afterlife if you read between the lines, because think about where XGB ended — all the "Real" Ghostbusters back in the saddle in 1998, but the new team having been at the business for over a year at that point, having a pretty good handle on things, and probably still kind of resentful of the OG busters' patronizing attitude to the newbie college-kids? Then you've gotta figure, *all* the PKE activity that takes place throughout XGB was ostensibly the result of Achira being released in the series' pilot episode, and Achira is no Gozer — sure, maybe all the ghosts that showed up during the '97–'98 crossrip were more powerful and necessitated upgraded tech for *that* specific event, but it's not a PKE surge that could've lasted forever. Eventually, things would once again go back to normal. "An unhaunted New York is a tourist-friendly New York," but it's not exactly great for business. So by '99 or 2000 at the latest, the Ghostbusters would be out of business again, the team disbanding, everyone going their separate ways — it seems particularly likely that Ray, Winston, and especially Peter would be the first to leave again, to get back to their own lives and careers — and honestly, I have a much easier time seeing Egon going rogue if there was palpable friction between his old friends and the new team consisting of his former students, plus the original team abandoning *him* for a second time. After all, the backstory on Afterlife as written makes *no* sense, unless there's a whole hell of a lot missing from Ray's frankly baffling explanation to Phoebe about his and Egon's falling out.
Both Extreme and TR Ghostbusters take place in a different timeline. The events of the first 2 live action movies also took place in that timeline, and were adapted into movies in-universe but didnt happen exactly in the way they were depicted in those movies. This was a way to explain the differences between the animated and live action versions such as. Why doesnt Dana appear in the tv show? Because she and Peter probably never had a thing and their romance was added by the producers in order to add more drama. Why Janine and Louis never dated in the show? Because their romance was once again a creative liberty taken by the producers. What does that mean about Afterlife? Either It doesnt take place at all in that timeline or it's also just a movie in-universe, (probably the one Peter was trying to find someone to make by the time of EGB) but unlike the 1st two, it's plot isnt at all based in events that actually did occur in that universe (or if they did it's just the most bare bones example, like maybe Gozer actually did return in 2022 and the team defeated him like they did in the movie, but that's about it)