The original Ghostbusters introduced EPA inspector Walter Peck (William Atherton, Die Hard), who became the human antagonist of the story. Peck comes to the Ghostbusters firehouse to inspect their Containment Unit, but despite trying to be polite with Bill Murray’s Venkman, the latter repeatedly insults and dismisses Peck. After getting a court order, it was Peck who ordered the Containment Unit shut down, causing the ghosts within to escape. Peck is returning for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and appears to have become mayor of New York; naturally, he’s still not a fan of the team.
Following the release of the original 2018 film and 2020 sequel starring John Krasinski Bob Marley: One Love and Emily, the new movie titled A Quiet Place: Day One will follow a brand-new set of characters. As the title suggests, the prequel film takes place on the very first day extraterrestrial creatures came to Earth and unleashed absolute chaos in New York City, attacking any source of noise. Plans for the upcoming movie were first announced in November 2020, and more details have been trickling in since, including the star-studded cast.
Peck’s return could help explain why people don’t take the Ghostbusters seriously, as he may Madame Web have worked hard to discredit them during their heyday. In the third act of Ghostbusters, Peck tried to convince the mayor the team are complete frauds who use “sense and nerve gases to induce hallucinations” and make their customers believe they are seeing ghosts. He also stated that once they’ve been called they solve the problem with “… a fake electronic light show.” In the years following his encounter with the Ghostbusters, he may have doubled down on this narrative.
The film features star including Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou and Denis O’Hare. According to Entertainment Weekly, Nyong’o plays a character named Sam who is on “a day trip to New York City when the monsters arrive.” As chaos ensues, she is “thrown together with a man named Eric” (played by Quinn) with whom she decides to pair up in order to survive.