Strap on your proton packs and prep your ghost traps. Sony Pictures has released the first trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
The upcoming sequel offers up a new story set in the original Ghostbusters franchise’s two-film (and a video game) timeline, but featuring a group of young actors in starring roles. Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard and The Haunting of Hill House actress McKenna Grace play a pair of siblings who discover that the farmhouse they inherited from their grandfather is not only home to some big secrets, but also that busting ghosts is in their blood.
The Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer doesn’t shy away from providing plenty of fan service, including plenty of shots of the Ghostbusters’ iconic gear and some scenes of the original ECTO-1 in action. It also delivers a few subtle callbacks to the original franchise, including a shot of the kids visiting the “Shandor Mining Co.” — almost certainly a reference to Ivo Shandor, the leader of the Cult of Gozer, who built the Manhattan building featured in the first Ghostbusters film in an effort to summon the god Gozer.
Judging by the supernatural happenings showcased in the trailer, a new generation of Ghostbusters will have to deal with the long-term effects of Shandor’s supernatural machinations.
Along with Wolfhard and Grace, the cast of Ghostbusters: Afterlife includes Carrie Coon as the siblings’ mother and Paul Rudd as a teacher at their school — both actors appear in the trailer. Original Ghostbusters stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts are also expected to reprise their roles for the film. Supporting cast members include Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Bokeem Woodbine, and Oliver Cooper.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is officially the third installment of the canonical Ghostbusters movie series, but the fourth film in the overall franchise. It’s a direct sequel to 1989’s Ghostbusters II, and ignores the events of the 2016 Ghostbusters remake (aka Ghostbusters: Answer the Call), which underperformed both critically and commercially. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is directed and co-written by four-time Academy Award nominee Jason Reitman (Up in the Air), the son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is scheduled to hit theaters July 10, 2020.
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