Who you gonna call? If the latest trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife is any indication, children! The classic comedy franchise is set for a revamp nearly 40 years after the first film’s release.
Not to be confused with the 2016 female-led Ghostbusters spinoff, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a continuation of the earlier film timeline. However, despite original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, and even Annie Potts (surly receptionist Janine Melnitz) returning, they’re not front and center in this one. Instead, it’s a new generation taking up the proton packs and Containment Units, as we see in the trailer, which dropped today.
In the trailer, we meet a new family comprised of Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), McKenna Grace (The Haunting of Hill House), and the kids’ teacher, Mr. Grooberson played by Paul Rudd.
After the family inherits an old farmhouse in Oklahoma, they soon discover that the small town holds some dark secrets. Grace and Wolfhard play Phoebe and Trevor, outcast siblings who discover their grandfather’s connection to the legendary New York City paranormal warriors, the Ghostbusters, and must accept their legacy to take on their new town’s supernatural threats. As it appears, they’re literally inheriting a whole bunch of Ghostbusters gear and the town’s paranormal activity includes some familiar characters returning to cause some mischief and mayhem. (Oh, it sure looks like there’s a lot of Ecto-1 high-speed chase action.)
With the help of some new friends at school and Mr. Grooberson, who just so happens to be a huge Ghostbusters fan, the kids pick up the Ghostbusting mantle to fight a bigger, badder threat than the original Ghostbusters have ever seen.
Can the film cater to both the die-hard fans of the original two films and attract a new audience to the franchise? Sony certainly seems to think so given its inclusion of the original cast in the film and pegging Jason Reitman — son of original director Ivan Reitman — to write and direct the new film. That task may be easier said than done, but with some awesome new effects and a talented young cast, there’s reason to be optimistic. We’ll soon find out when the film releases on November 11, 2021.
