Age of The Nerd
With the film set to release in just a few short months, we will take a look at everything we know so far about the upcoming blockbuster Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Starting with the essential piece of information, the film is set for release in July 2021. It is 12 months after the initially planned release date this year because of two separate delays. Some fans of the franchise have been disappointed by the wait while others have been more understanding, but one thing the delay has done is ensure historic continuity because the film is now releasing exactly 37 years after the original movie hit the silver screen.
The cast for the third installment of the Ghostbusters franchise (everyone is pretending the 2016 reboot never happened) can only be described as all-star. Sigourney Weaver leaked that she, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd would all be reprising their roles from the originals when she admitted, “It’s going to be crazy working with the guys again!”.
Having the trio involved was a stroke of genius by the film’s producers because they were such an integral part of what made the originals great. However, it wasn’t how the franchise began. In the 1980s The Real Ghostbusters was first a television series before NOW Comics, and Marvel UK created a comic book of the same name. This then became the film series we all know and love today.
There have been three books penned that are considered canon to the story, Ghostbusters: The Return, written in 2004 by Sholly Fisch, which was a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the franchise, Tobin’s Spirit Guide, by Erik Burnham, which was a tie in to the 2016 reboot, and Ghosts from Our Past, written by Andrew Shaffer, which appears in the 2016 film.
On top of that, the franchise has its own officially licensed pinball machine, which features audio clips from the first two films, no less than 19 video game titles across every platform from Game Boy to Playstation 4 and even Android, and its own official slot game in the iGaming industry, which players can try at online casinos like Unibet casino in New Jersey.
Ant-Man and Avengers star Paul Rudd will join the famous trio after he announced his involvement in the film in a way that immediately endeared him to the franchise’s fanbase. He recorded a video of the announcement standing in front of the famous Hook & Ladder fire station in New York, which was used as the Ghostbusters’ headquarters in the original films.
The script was written by Jason Reitman, of Juno and Thank You For Smoking Fame, and directed by Gil Kenan, who boasts Monster House and 2015’s Poltergeist on his résumé.
As mentioned, the 2016 film is being politely ignored for story continuity purposes, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife is considered as the sequel to Ghostbusters 2, but will not pick up directly where that film left off. “This is the next chapter in the original franchise,” explains Reitman. “What happened in the ’80s happened in the ’80s, and this is set in the present day.”
This film will follow the story of a family in Oklahoma that inherits an old farmhouse and discover things aren’t the way they seem in the small town. Two siblings then discover their family’s links to the Ghostbusters and are forced to face their legacy if they are to save their loved ones and the town.
Weaver, Murray, and Aykroyd aren’t the only fan-favorites to be returning for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. In another nod to the originals that are sure to have fans of the franchise giddy, the paranormal investigator’s famous car Ecto-1 was seen on set and also appeared in the trailer for the film. While perhaps not as fast or full of gadgets as saying the Batmobile, Ecto-1 is undoubtedly as iconic and is the kind of fanservice that will have people flocking to the cinema in July next year.
