There have been so many movies affected by the release-date shift of 2020, every once in a while I am reminded of a film and it makes me go, “Oh yeah, I’m excited to see that and I totally forgot it was supposed to come out months ago.” Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife falls into that category. Originally due to drop in the Summer of 2020, the sequel now eyeballs a June 11, 2021 release, and as such, is ramping up promotion. Empire shared this latest image of the younger members of the Ghostbusters: Afterlife cast, and their costumes really caught my eye:
Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard are sitting in Ecto-1 in this new image, and they are wearing the signature Ghostbusters jumpsuits. Now, are they just playing dress up, because Grace's character found equipment that once belonged to her later grandfather, Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis)? Or are the kids inheriting the “family” business, and getting ready to bust some ghosts?
Think back to the trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife that dropped oh so long ago. Carrie Coon plays a mom who moved her family to the Midwest, back to the farm that was in her family. Then, strange things started happening, and the audience learned that these people were Spenglers. Paul Rudd held up that Ghost Trap, and educated the kids on the exploitations of the Ghostbusters. Here, just watch it!
Speaking with Empire, Jason Reitman confirms that the movie he directed is set in the same universe as the first two Ghostbusters stories (which is different, then, from Paul Feig’s reboot). And he said that his father, Ivan, recently got to see a cut of the film, which led to this beautiful interaction:
My father hasn’t been leaving the house much because of Covid. But he took a test, put on a mask and drove down to the Sony lot to watch the movie with the studio. And after, he cried, and he said, ‘I’m so proud to be your father.’ And it was one of the great moments of my life.
That’s wonderful. And while it seems like we may see a young generation busting ghosts in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Jason Reitman has secured the appearance of surviving cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver, making this an official Chapter Three in the saga.
As Empire notes, “Nostalgia Sequels” are hot right now, with franchises from Mad Max to Star Wars tapping back into their roots to get fanbases fired up for new stories. Jason Reitman was an inspired choice to follow up on his father Ivan’s legacy, and that first trailer brought the right mix of fear and wonder. I, for one, can’t wait to see where this movie goes, and anticipate its arrival on June 11, 2021.
