Ghostbusters: Afterlife international trailer features new footage and ghosts. Early reviews of the long-awaited Ghostbusters legacy sequel have offered split opinions about the movie’s nostalgia-packed approach to reviving the franchise.
Ghostbusters of course lay in stasis for decades until 2016’s controversial all-female reboot. This time around, original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman’s son Jason takes over the reins for a movie that promises to be heavy on Easter eggs and inter-generational storytelling. Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace head up the cast as the grandkids of original Ghostbuster Egon Spengler, with Carrie Coon as their mom and Paul Rudd as the science teacher who takes an interest in their discoveries about their late grandfather. Not surprisingly, the small town at the center of the story is soon beset by all manner of spooks, specters and other supernatural entities. But thankfully a new generation of Ghostbusters is armed to fight them with all the great old Ghostbusters tech, including the iconic Ecto-1, along with some new creations of their own.
A new international trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife indeed goes heavy on the inter-generational storytelling angle as it features a flashback sequence that shows Egon hiding his ghostbusting toys in a remote farmhouse while being pursued by some invisible foe. There’s also plenty of Rudd, who has a close encounter with a hungry Terror Dog. The trailer also puts more emphasis on the story’s apocalyptic angle, suggesting things could get a lot heavier than fans might expect – even though there’s also obvious comedy. See the clip in the space below (via Sony Pictures Releasing UK):
Watch This Video Here
This being a trailer meant for UK audiences it’s perhaps no surprise that the Spielbergian nostalgia is toned down a little bit and the action is given more emphasis. Rudd and Coon also get more of a showcase in this trailer, as it seems the UK marketing is targeted more at adult audience members who may not be terribly interested in Ghostbusters. Indeed, there’s no sign whatsoever of any original Ghostbusters actors, even though Bill Murray, Dan Ayrkoyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts are all in the film (and Potts did get a showcase in an earlier trailer). But of course those classic Ghostbusters elements are impossible to escape and are indeed all over this trailer as well. In addition to the Ecto-1, there’s more of the Mini Stay-Puft Marshmallow Men, as well as Terror Dogs, the Slimer-like ghost Muncher and that same glimpse seen in previous trailers of someone who appears to be Gozer climbing out of a pit.
It’s an open question whether this trailer, with its slightly greater emphasis on Coon and Rudd’s characters and slightly toned-down sentimentality, will draw any non-Ghostbusters fans to the theater in the UK or anywhere else. Certainly Ghostbusters fanatics are the movie’s main targets as is to be expected. But some new fans do need to be drawn in, as Sony tries to relaunch the Ghostbusters franchise with plans for more sequels and spinoffs. Ghostbusters: Afterlife indeed appears to try a lot of different things, melding comedy with drama, and trying to tell a somewhat original story while also engaging in full-on fan service.
Key Release Dates
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Release Date:2021-11-19
