Perhaps sensing that the minds of the moviegoing public—as much as concepts like “moviegoing” and “public” exist during the COVID-19 pandemic—were otherwise occupied with images far more horrifying than a giant Slor, Sony announced this afternoon that the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife has been pushed to June 11, 2021. For those keeping score at home, that’ll put the Jason Reitman-directed sequel into theaters 37 years after the original Ghostbusters, four months after its first revised release date, and approximately two-and-a-half years after self-proclaimed “first Ghostbusters fan” Reitman stuck his foot in his mouth upon announcing that his new addition to the comedy franchise was “for all the other fans.” But then again, what’s waiting 16 additional weeks in the midst of 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes, and all of the other stuff that Dan Aykroyd might attribute to the difficulties of getting a third film set in the continuity of the first two Ghostbusters movies in front of people?
Barring the end of the world (we made it past February 14, 2016, people!), Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts will join newcomers Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace in theaters in mid-June of next year. Bill Murray will be there too, though you have to wonder if he’s thinking that if he dragged his feet just a little longer, maybe they would’ve let him film his scenes over Zoom. Variety reports that Sony is also banking on a summer 2021 release for the yet-untitled Don’t Breathe sequel, but we have a strong, psychic belief that that date, like Afterlife’s, could still change.
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I’ll admit… I totally forgot about this movie. In fact, if Sony never mentions it ever again, how many are going to notice?
It’d be for the best.
Don’t care. At least the reboot told jokes.Honestly, how on Earth do you take one of the most iconically New York comedies of all time and decide “you know what this needs, a reverently serious sequel set in the Midwest starring kids”?
I’m not sufficiently invested in Ghostbusters to feel proprietorial about either approach to the franchise extensions (the old movies were fine and also rife with things that don’t work) but on balance, I do agree insofar as the reboot had some sort of comedic vision. I can’t pretend that I thought it was particularly funny, but it could have been and it’s hard to fault the updated premise really, or the approach. It just seems like the jokes it told weren’t funny enough, which on the one hand is a cardinal sin, but on the other, a reasonably noble failure.
But this… thing, it doesn’t seem to exist for any reason other than to coddle people.
The kids/midwestern setting looks dire but I am interested in how they use the OG Ghostbusters continuity/legacy sequel aspect. Maybe Kylo Ren will stab Vennkman? I know in the remkae, Murray got in 2 scenes and died in one of them, maybe he’ll get the same thing again?
I assume it’s because Reitman got tired of making movies which didn’t make money*, saw what Abrams was rolling in based purely on nostalgia, and decided to sell out.*I liked Tully, but not enough other people did.
Just because the trailer leans heavily into nostalgia doesn’t mean that the film itself won’t have plenty of jokes?I’d argue that the reboot tried to tell too many jokes – when everyone is trying to be “the funny one,” it makes everything less funny because it looks like everyone is trying too hard.
Sure, maybe! But a trailer’s one and only job is to inform prospective audiences of what the experience of a future movie will be like. Not only is it bad that this trailer is dusty, self-serious, and full of kids, but if the movie itself is not, it’s much more damning that they apparently thought that was a good sales pitch.
Yeah, if we expect a trailer to give any indication of a movie (and I think that’s fair!), I was not impressed.
Ghostbusters is one of my favorite movies. The reboot was fine; not amazing, but fine. It’s not like Ghostbusters II was anything absolutely thrilling, though it had its moments.
I have to say, as a person near 40 who knows a lot of marketing now is targeting saps like me, it’s not actually that enjoyable to sit through a preview that more or less exists to leverage my fond feelings for something ELSE into a new venture. And I like the cast, but still: not super interested. I don’t care that they made it any more than I care about rebooting stuff in general, but I feel zero compulsion to buy tickets to see it whenever it does come out.
Given how common complaints about reboots are, I guess the studio wants to make it clear that this isn’t an alternate universe retelling, but an actual sequel to the originals, where legacy has impact.Teaser trailers aren’t necessarily all that indicative of their films. They’re mostly just a way to evoke curiosity and anticipation. (I mean, there have been teasers that don’t even show much or any footage…)
I mean sure, you’d expect there to be jokes in it, but marketing a Ghostbusters film based on the legacy/nostalgia/earnestness stuff rather than the wacko humor kind of gives me pause because it makes me think that, if they’re going to market the film this cynically, maybe the film itself is this cynical?
I mean, it’s certainly entirely possible I’m wrong. It’s possible that it’s a really authentic Ghostbuster sequel that captures the tone and approach of the original, and that is just the marketing strategy they deemed optimal, but… I dunno, law of averages, y’know?
Having seen the movie, I agree, it’s terrible….
Might they be allowed to CGI Finn Wolfhard out of the movie? Maybe have some serious rewrites and bring Wes Anderson on as director for a whole new shoot?
I get what you’re saying and a big red NO. The last thing a Ghostbusters “reboot” “sequel” “whatever” needs is Wes Anderson. I love me some WA, but JHC, the last thing this needs is him. Both hims. This is also an unwanted sequel to a girls sequel (that I actually liked) but to a sequel that was unwanted, to an original film that did a lot of money. I save my sequel money for all the Stars, both Trek and Wars, and F&F can suck my dick.