This week we got our first look at 2020’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a sequel to the original two films, and it has to be said that it looks like it could be quite a solid return to the franchise. Until recently, it had been referred to as Ghostbusters 2020, with Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace attached and seen in the trailer. Ivan Reitman, son of four time Oscar-nominated Jason Reitman and director of the original Ghostbusters, will bring his noteworthy credits to the film as writer and director. 

The trailer introduces us first to Finn Wolfhard’s character, Trevor, as he explains his mother, Callie (Carrie Coon), has moved him and his sister (McKenna Grace) to a remote town due to money troubles and because the only thing they “have left in their name” is their grandfather’s “creepy, old house”. Later in the trailer, we see his sister Phoebe, discover what appears to be a dust-ridden old science lab featuring some of the classic ghostbusters proton packs and their uniforms. From here we are led to believe that Phoebe then shows an old ghost trap to her teacher, and this is where we get our first look at Paul Rudd’s character, simply credited as ‘Mr. Grooberson’. He then informs us that there’s something strange in the neighbourhood, in the form of tremors with no reasonable scientific explanation. From here we are treated to a sighting of Ecto-1, with various ghostly implications and even some of the kids using one of the proton packs.

The new cast take centre stage, we don’t see any of the original characters, and references to the originals come in the form of familiar objects: the ghost trap, the proton packs and Ecto-1. It does a good job of giving us a taster of the newbies, while also expressing its links to the originals. It does feel like the old guard will definitely come into it. We have a voice-over from Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman which is taken from a conversation towards the beginning of the original when he tries to rally Ray Stanz (Dan Aykroyd). Although this dialogue is old, it has been confirmed that Murray will reprise his role. According to IMDb, fellow original ghostbusters Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson, who plays Winston Zeddmore, will also be returning, as well as Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver. Elsewhere in the trailer, it seems that the monster that stomps on Paul Rudd’s car bonnet could be a creature similar to the Terror Dogs from the original, but that’s speculation as we only see it’s paw and leg. Finally, it seems likely that the kids’ grandfather was the original ghostbuster, Egon Spengler. The uniform that Phoebe uncovers does have Spengler on it and let’s be honest, he’s the most likely of the four to keep a creepy lab in his basement. Sadly, we know actor and ghostbusters co-creator Harold Ramis won’t be reprising his role as Spengler, as he passed away in 2014, but this could be a fitting and respectful tribute to him and his character.

Image Credit: IMDb