Geekery: Ecto1 Roars Back to Life in First ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ Trailer
The next generation of ghost hunters are coming to theaters this summer… and they’re still in middle school.
They’re making it clear from the get-go: this is a continuation that ignores the 2016 reboot. It has a bit of a Stranger Things, kids on bikes feel to it that’s kind of hard to avoid when you cast Finn Wolfhard in a lead roll. I’m liking what I’m seeing, though. The effects look like an update on what Boss Film Studios did in the ’80s, not like a Disney ride (my biggest complaint about the 2016 reboot). We shall see if the story makes die hard fans happier, too.
There are some familiar names in the team behind this – Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts are all back on screen. And that’s not all, the director has a personal history – for the Reitman’s, Ghostbusters is a family tradition. Ivan Reitman directed the first two movies, and he cast his family as extras and had them visit the set during production. Jason Reitman recalled what that was like..
I remember being on set and seeing them try out the card catalog gag for the first time when the library ghost makes them come flying out. I remember the day they killed Stay Puft and I brought home a hardened piece of foam that just sat on a shelf for years. I was scared there was a terror dog underneath my bed before people knew what a terror dog was.
Ivan produced this new film, but handed the directing over to his son. Jason has a good record as a director; mainly with indies about human relationships with a layer of dark humor like Juno, Up in the Air, and Tully. Based on what we’re seeing in the first trailer, this movie will have that same undercurrent. It’s a great fit for the franchise.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife will hit theaters on July 10th.
