In case anyone forgot about it, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is coming to movie theaters this fall and the film's new trailer has a lot of Ghostbusters references to unpack. Luckily, director Jason Reitman is more than happy to explain how he tackled his father’s masterpiece.
After the failure of 2016’s female spin on the Ghostbusters, Afterlife is surely looking to make amends for fans. However, Reitman is trying to do it in an entirely different way with a film that aims to be much scarier than the original two but at the same time sticking to the Ghostbusters’ comedy roots. As it turns out, much to Vin Diesel's surprise, Ghostbusters is also about family this time around.
In an IGN exclusive interview, Reitman broke down these aspects about the Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer and how, for example, having a daughter exactly the same as Phoebe (McKenna Grace) shaped his desire to bring the Ghostbusters to 2021 for a younger generation that’s not quite aware of everything that happened in the '80s. Of course, it also helps a ton that Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be focusing on the Spengler family as a way to honor the late Harold Ramis, while the rest of the original core cast comes back.
Naturally, a lot of effort went into recreating the many gadgets used by the Ghostbusters in the original film or the eponymously titled video games. However, the entire production team also went to great lengths to even rescue part of the special effects footage for a better update process. The team crafted ghost puppets similar to those from the '80s (including the fearsome Terror Dogs), and sort of bring back Gozer in a bite-size presentation for Paul Rudd. Even the famous Ecto-1 vehicle got a significant overhaul.
The Ecto-1 now comes fully tricked out with a new Corvette engine that allows it to perform the many stunts that can be seen on the trailer, even though Reitman himself was unaware of how difficult it would be to shoot all those flashy car chase scenes. Oddly enough, he did not comment on Dan Aykroyd appearing towards the end when Ray’s voice can be heard.
As to where the Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be taking fans, Reitman made it clear the reason he’s been so secretive about the story is the fact that it borrows large chunks of his own family’s tale, framed within the context of why Egon Spengler chose a small Oklahoma town to retire and why his daughter know so little about his ghostbusting past. Overall, it seems like a lot of love made it into this film, so maybe Bill Murray is right about it.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is scheduled for release on November 11, 2021.
Source: IGN|YouTube