Today's just not quite as exciting as it was supposed to be, as the anticipated sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife was originally scheduled to premiere on this day. Originally given a release date of July 10, 2020, the national shutdown of movie theaters had forced Sony to push back the movie until Spring 2021. As of now, the Jason Reitman-directed movie is set to make its long-awaited premiere on March 5, 2021, so as long as the movie theater business is a bit more "back to normal" by the time we reach that point next year.

What's most exciting about the new movie for longtime Ghostbusters fans is the new movie's storyline connections to the original two movies from director Ivan Reitman. In 2016, Paul Feig rebooted the series with an all-new cast, and while many original actors provided cameo appearances, the release was met with heavy criticism from fans. One of the complaints fans had about the reboot was how it seemed to abandon the canon established by the original movies, and it seemed like more people were interested in revisiting the universe of the original Ghostbusters.

Fortunately, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is looking to rectify this mistake. Primarily, the new movie will follow a new cast of characters led by Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd. Original cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts will also be returning to reprise their roles from the first two movies. It's also clear from the trailer that the movie will be filled with references to the original Ghostbusters movies, with Rudd's character taking a particular interest in what happened with the famous spirit-hunting team in New York over three decades ago.

Of course, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is not the only anticipated release to be given a painful premiere delay, as nearly every major release set for this year has gotten similar treatment. Just this week, it was announced that the upcoming slasher sequel Halloween Kills will premiere in October 2021 instead of October 2020, as was the original plan. Other major horror movie releases, the upcoming sequel The Forever Purge and Nia DaCosta's Candyman reboot, have also been pushed back from the original release dates. Given these recent announcements, it's now looking like there's a good chance next month's Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter sequel Bill & Ted Face the Music could see a delay as well.

Oddly enough, the original Ghostbusters has been dominating the box office at a time when the newest movie was unable to be released. The classic movie from 1984 won the 4th of July weekend box office, proving that the original movies are just as popular today as they were when they were first released. It's going to be hard to wait until March 5, 2021, when Ghostbusters: Afterlife finally makes its way into theaters, but for now, we can always revisit the originals. To further think about what you could have been seeing this weekend, you can watch the official trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife below, courtesy of Sony on YouTube.