Olivia Wilde Plays An Iconic Character In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Our Scoop Confirmed

Long before the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife in theaters, Giant Freakin Robot exclusively reported that Olivia Wilde makes an appearance in the new movie.

By James Brizuela | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

olivia wilde

Long before the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife in theaters, Giant Freakin Robot exclusively reported that Olivia Wilde makes an appearance in the new movie. The trusted Giant Freakin Robot insider shared that Wilde plays the iconic character Gozer the Gozerian, as seen in the original movie in 1984. Now that the movie has released, our early scoop is officially confirmed. Olivia Wilde can be seen in Ghostbusters: Afterlife playing the role of Gozer the Gozerian.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife opened over the weekend and to great reviews. Many were wondering what, if any, of the old characters would make their return to battle ghosts once more. One of the biggest threats to the city and the Ghostbusters is the longtime villain and arch-enemy of the team, Gozer the Gozerian. Gozer was the main villain in the original Ghostbusters film. The angry god was once again the main threat in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and played by none other than Olivia Wilde.

After our early report of Olivia Wilde appearing in the newest iteration of Ghostbusters, it has been completely confirmed. And after seeing the film myself, I can also confirm that Wilde is indeed playing a new version of Gozer. Gozer appears in the film as an even scarier iteration than the original film. Complete with her two demon dogs as they run rampant on Summerville, which is a town in Ohio that has no idea of the deeply buried threat that will be unleashed.

ghostbusters gozer
Gozer in The Original Ghostbusters

If you have not seen the film, there will be plenty of Ghostbusters: Afterlife spoilers from here on out. The film follows hints and clues left by former Ghostbuster, Egon Spengler. Spengler’s family inherit the farm for which Egon left his life and family. A sad detail that makes sense towards the end of the film. Egon battles with Gozer, not yet Olivia Wilde, at the beginning of the film, but it is not explicitly shown that Gozer is the threat, as it is only the spirit form of Gozer. Egon is sadly killed, but his ghost remains. Egon’s grandchildren, Phoebe and Trevor, take to the Ecto-1 armed with old tools left behind to deal with the threat of ghosts appearing in town. Mainly, Muncher, which is the newer version of the original film’s Slimer.

After the two demon dogs, representing the Keymaster and Gatekeeper get together, they then release Gozer from its deep slumber and prison. The children attempt to stop this union from happening, and they go deep into the mines of Summerville, where Gozer was kept waiting. Gozer’s spirits now join together to create the most tangible and glittery version of Gozer, who is now very much Olivia Wilde. Although the voice is clearly not Wilde’s, you can see her face as clear as day through the makeup.

Gozer was comprised of three different people’s efforts. Emma Portner plays the CGI spirit form of Gozer, Shohreh Aghdashloo is the creepy and high-pitched voice of Gozer, while Olivia Wilde played the actual walking and tangible version of Gozer. All three together make for a brand-new and exciting version of a villain that Ghostbusters fans will be happy to see.

It was great to see such a nostalgia-heavy plot and original treatment taken with the newest Ghostbusters film. Any fan of the franchise and original films will be treated to a very humorous and familiar feeling when watching Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Olivia Wilde is likely to feel honored having been able to play such an iconic villain and one that holds such great power.