Ghostbusters: Afterlife served up a serious helping of nostalgia for die-hard fans of the storied horror/comedy franchise. Though the highly anticipated blockbuster introduced a new team of paranormal enthusiasts, it also brought back the OG team. And joining them was the main antagonist from the 1984 film -- the all-powerful Gozer. However, this time, the villain was played by none other than Olivia Wilde, who certainly brought her A-game to the proceedings. She was a perfect fit for the role, and this is definitely apparent in a new behind-the-scenes photo.
Arjen Tuiten, one of the film’s makeup artists, shared the photo to his Instagram account. In it, the actress can be seen posing in a trailer, presumably after having just undergone the makeup process. The star looks just as imposing as you’d hope, and you love to see it. Check out the cool picture in the post down below:
Fans also have to give major props to the artist and his colleagues for being able to seamlessly transform Olivia Wilde into the character. In Ivan Reitman’s first movie, the role was played by Slavitza Jovan and voiced by Paddi Edwards. Though the look came together nicely, recreating was a daily labor of love for all of those involved. In his caption, the makeup guru gave kudos to Wilde for being able to withstand the lengthy process:
What an honor it was with @oliviawilde being a absolute badass in 5.5 hrs of makeup. Thank you for your patience and amazing performance
Gozer the Gozerian was established as an ancient being that was worshiped by several cultures over a millenia ago. Though it was ultimately banished from Earth, it was able to make its way to 1980s New York with the help of its emissaries, Zuul the Gatekeeper and Vinz Clortho the Keymaster a.k.a. the hounds of hell. The Ghostbusters managed to defeat it but, in Afterlife, the monster appears in modern-day Oklahoma, where it’s ultimately taken down again by both the young and veteran teams.
Though Olivia Wilde’s role in the sequel isn’t massive, it’s still pretty impressive that the producers were able to keep her appearance under wraps. One would assume Sony took a few pages out of Marvel’s playbook and covered her in a cloak when ushering her around the set. Secrecy aside, it seems the actress (who went uncredited for the role) enjoyed mixing up with her co-stars. As it turns out, Bill Murray kept her in stitches, which caused Wilde to break character while filming with him.
I’d say the franchise is probably ready to retire Gozer, at this point, which would make things even more interesting in regard to a potential sequel. Still, it’s cool that the character was able to get another hurrah, partly due to the efforts of the fan-favorite actor/director.
If you haven’t already, you can still check out Ghostbusters: Afterlife in theaters. You can also revisit the first two installments by streaming them via Amazon Prime Video.
