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The original Ghostbusters have learned a lot about apparitions during their four decades of ‘bustin. They know which spirits to lock up in a containment unit and which ones are okay to keep as a slimy spectral green pet with a fondness for junk food. Unfortunately young Podcast does not have the experience needed to make that call. He didn’t destroy the Mini-Pufts from Ghostbusters: Afterlife. He brought those adorable masochists with him to the world’s supernatural center, New York City. For awhile that wasn’t a problem. During Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire those tiny marshmallow weirdos mostly just hurt themselves with glee and shuddered in terror from Garraka. But that all changed during the only post-credits scene in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. That’s when the Mini-Pufts hijacked a truck that indicates they have big plans to bring back their oversized predecessor.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire featured a lot of Ghostbusters, but none of them appeared during this scene. It took place at a gas station as a truck driver made a quick pit stop. As he entered the station’s store an unseen force took control of his rig. At first it seemed as though it might be the ghost Possessor commandeering his vehicle. Instead it proved to be the mischievous Mini-Pufts working together.
The scene might have been nothing more than an extra gag involving the highly marketable marshmallows that make for some pretty great toys if not for the film’s final surprise. As the Mini-Pufts drove away the film revealed exactly what they had stolen: a Stay Puft Marshmallow delivery truck.
Why would a bunch of sentient tiny creatures steal a massive load of normal marshmallows? The most obvious answer is the most exciting ones for fans: to build a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man like the one Ray Stantz accidentally chose as the form of Gozer’s Destructor in the franchise’s original 1984 film.
Ray’s inability to clear his mind in the presence of a powerful god was how a lovable rotund mascot instantly manifested as a skyscraper-sized monster in the Big Apple. But while the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is one of cinema’s most iconic monsters, he didn’t last very long in the original film. The Ghostbusters quickly ended his sticky reign of terror by crossing their streams to stop Gozer. That turned him into mounds piles of marshmallowy mess all over the city.
While the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man returned on the animated The Real Ghostbusters series and in video games, the original Ghostbusters haven’t had to deal with him in a live-action film again. He was a terrible memory until his tiny counterparts arrived. But if there’s a sequel to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, that could change based on this post-credits tease. The Mini-Pufts are organized and they seem to have a plan to bring back their big dad.
That’s not going to be good for the Ghostbusters, except ironically maybe Podcast. He should at least get a good episode out of the return of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
More must-reads:
- 20 iconic films that somehow didn't win the Best Picture Oscar
- 20 blockbuster films that totally tanked at the box office
- 20 child actors who also had successful careers as adults
- 20 film remakes that surpassed the original movie
- The 20 most anticlimactic movie endings
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