The ongoing CinemaCon event has revealed further details regarding the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel. During the Sony panel, a video from the set featuring the returning cast, including McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon, was shown, with writer and producer Jason Reitman appearing on stage alongside director Gil Kenan.
The video shown at the event reportedly showed all four members of the cast wearing classic versions of the familiar Ghostbusters costume, meaning that Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor Spengler, Mckenna Grace’s Phoebe Spengler, Carrie Coon’s Callie Spengler, and Paul Rudd’s Gary Grooberson will all be working as fully-fledged Ghostbusters in the sequel.
The video also confirmed that the as-yet-untitled Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel will indeed take the action back to Manhattan, and finds the characters introduced in the legacy now all living together under one roof as a family. And that the roof in question will be none other than the original Ghostbusters firehouse in New York City.
During the event, Reitman reflected on screening Ghostbusters: Afterlife at CinemaCon back in 2021 alongside his dearly departed father, Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman. “It was a huge night for me. It was the first time my father and I watched the movie together with an audience. We were showing the movie, it was just crushing,” Reitman said before revealing that his filmmaker father could not help but offer some insight. “And halfway through my father leans over to me…he whispers into my ear, ‘You really have to lose that shot of the car going over the bridge.’”
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The Ghostbusters: Afterlife Sequel is Due to Hit Theaters in December
Released last year, Ghostbusters: Afterlife picks up thirty years after the 1989 sequel Ghostbusters II, and follows a family who move to a small town, where they discover their connection to the original ghost-busting team. The legacy sequel was well-received by both critics and audiences alike, grossing $204 million worldwide against a production budget of $75 million, with a sequel announced last year.
While details of the plot for the follow-up remain largely unknown, we do know that the movie will bring back several familiar faces from the original Ghostbusters. “The character of Winston Zeddemore and Zeddemore Industries figures strongly into the future of Ghostbusters,” Jason Reitman revealed previously, with Ernie Hudson all set to reprise the role of Winston Zeddemore.
Recent images from filming have also revealed that a beloved villain will also make a comeback. Last seen in the original Ghostbusters way, way back in 1984, William Atherton will return as the overzealous, irritating Environmental Protection Agency inspector Walter Peck. While details of his role are unknown, his return is certainly an exciting one.
Directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay co-written by Jason Reitman and Kenan, and starring Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Logan Kim, Celeste O'Connor, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Ernie Hudson, William Atherton, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster and Emily Alyn Lind, the untitled Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel is scheduled to be released by Sony Pictures Releasing on December 20, 2023.