New Ghostbusters: Afterlife Image Shows The Kids Suited Up
As the new release date for Ghostbusters: Afterlife gets closer, Empire has unveiled a new look at the upcoming film from Jason Reitman.
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As with many movies scheduled to come out last year, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was delayed from its July 2020 release date. Now, Sony is tentatively looking at releasing the official new Ghostbusters sequel in June of 2021. With that release date comes our first new peek at the movie, with a new picture of the kids suited up in the classic outfit from the original movies.
This new look at the upcoming film comes from Empire, which also has a new interview with director Jason Reitman. One of the things that makes Ghostbusters: Afterlife so special is the choice of director. While Jason Reitman is mostly known for directing dramatic comedies like Juno, Thank You For Smoking, and Up in the Air, he is also the son of Ivan Reitman, the director of the original Ghostbusters films. Jason Reitman’s film will be taking place in the original storyline and will be the official third movie in the Ghostbusters franchise.
Making what is canonically the third Ghostbusters film is a bold project to take on. After the failures of the 2016 Ghostbusters movie starring Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, there are likely fans that are hesitant about another installment. Having Ghostbusters: Afterlife take place in the same storyline, and with a director in the same family might be a good way to build up confidence with an audience.
For Jason Reitman, who both wrote the script and directed the movie, there’s definitely some added pressure for the movie to be great, especially when it came time for his father to see Ghostbusters: Afterlife. In the interview with Empire, Jason Reitman recounts his father’s trip to see the movie. His father hasn’t left the house much, due to COVID, but he came to the Sony lot to watch the film. Jason Reitman said, “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.”
So what kind of take can we expect to see from Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife? When discussing what he loved about the original Ghostbusters, he mentioned the movie’s specific sense of humor, as well as the film’s horror elements. Ghostbusters was actually quite scary, and he wanted to bring some of that into the new movie. “I was at a Directors Guild meeting and I happened to be sitting next to Steven Spielberg,” said Reitman. “When I told him I was working on Ghostbusters, he out of nowhere said, ‘Library Ghost – top ten scares of all time.’ And it’s true.”
Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars The Haunting of Hill House‘s McKenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard, from Stranger Things and the recent adaptation of Stephen King’s It. While the kids are at the center of the story, which takes place in rural Oklahoma, you can expect to see some familiar faces. The surviving cast members from Ghostbusters are rumored to make cameos, and the film also stars The Leftovers‘ Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd.
While there’s no guarantee Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be released in the summer of 2021, the studio is hopeful. LEGO has launched a new ECTO-1 model, and we have this new look at the film to be excited about. With any luck, we’ll see the promotion pick up as June approaches and Afterlife will become a reality.
