For the fans, the concerns were abundant. But it was after the release of the official trailer, that the fans began to voice these concerns in mass. The glimpses of the cast in action seemed to clash with the original Ghostbusters artfully crafted mesh of character types. In the original, you had 4 critical character types that served to emphasize and bring home a slew of understated jokes and quick witted dialogue in the midst of a rather surreal situational comedy. This balance of character types was deliberate and was a critical component to what made Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters.

You had a character with an almost childlike wonder and enthusiasm over his work (Ray Stantz played by Dan Akroyd). This character serves as a balance against a more cynical, sarcastic, and spontaneous character (Peter Venkman played by Bill Murray). These two polar opposites of the same eccentric coin were pared with your every man character (Winston Zeddemore played by Ernie Hudson) who was more grounded, street wise, and relatable. All of these characters were tied down by perhaps the single most important character type to any comedy ensemble, “the straight man”.

“The straight man” is a term which references the one in a comedy group which remains composed or “straight”. No matter how preposterous the circumstance, or how eccentric his or her counterparts responses might be, the straight man stays steady with an unflinchingly deadpan delivery. The straight man is perhaps the most essential element to both setting up and bringing home many jokes. This role was of course played by the late Harold Ramis in Dr. Egon Spengler.

Instead of having very different characters with well defined motivations, the reboot seemed to color most of the characters with different shades of “wacky”. But without these crucial elements, the quick witted comedic dialogue the original films were known for would be all but impossible. Combine that with the neon cartoon ghosts and a comedic tone that seemed to rely on slapstick and you have grounds for real concern over the direction of the film.

Sure the trailer was only a glimpse, but the signs were there, and the fans voiced their concerns. The trailer for the 2016 reboot seemed to say; “Hey remember that amazing comedy from 30 years ago which introduced you to four iconic characters as they overcame insurmountable odds to save New York from the supernatural?!? Forget about them!!!” The decision to evoke the nostalgia of the original while simultaneously saying they would erase that very history seemed misguided to say the least. Ultimately, that trailer became one of the most down voted videos in YouTube’s history.