The first full trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife is here! 2016’s Ghostbusters reboot, which adhered to the original films’ comedic tone, left a lot of fans underwhelmed at the prospect of a future filled with proton packs. Our first look at Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters addresses any staleness by elaborating upon the second part of its title: this new film seems to be consciously aware of its namesake while having a life of its own. By almost completely abandoning the 1984 vibe of “we came, we saw, we kicked its ass,” the trailer adopts a nostalgia similar to Stranger Things or IT (and not just because of Finn Wolfhard). It appears to be a fresh, contemporary, and unexpected take on ghostbusting. With that in mind, here are all of the things we didn’t expect to see in the first trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Cover Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment
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Ghostbusters Afterlife
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The Vibe
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is meant to be a direct follow-up to the first two Ghostbusters films; if it weren’t for all of the Easter eggs in this trailer, you would have no way of knowing this movie even exists in the same universe. Despite its modern day setting, Afterlife looks like it was plucked straight out of the pages of an '80s, kid-centic, Stephen King novel. The whole vibe steers much more towards horror than humor (at least in this trailer); it also appears to come fully equipped with a coming-of-age/new-kids-in-town narrative.
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Family Matters
Centering on a mother (Callie) and her two children (Trevor and Phoebe), Ghostbusters: Afterlife shows us a family that has seen better days. They're broke, and having nowhere else to go, move to an old farmhouse that was left to Callie by a father she never knew (and has since passed).
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The Setting
The film is set in Sommerville, Oklahoma—not even close to Ghostbusters’ usual New York City setting. They’re in the middle of fricking nowhere yet experience earthquakes on a daily basis for some inexplicable reason. Good thing their old farmhouse has a backup power source (and is filled with secrets).
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An Eerie Resemblance
Phoebe, with her dark, curly hair and big round glasses, looks like someone we know. Who could it be?
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Egon Spengler: The Absent Father
So Callie’s father was Egon Spengler: the man, the myth, the Ghostbusters tech guy. The fact that Egon is called out as a “father she never knew” raises a lot of questions. Spengler was a nice guy in the original films (arguably the nicest), so it’s hard to believe he would have hit the bricks after a one-night stand. Something clearly must have happened to make him go all doomsday and put all of his equipment (and the rest of the gang’s) under heavy lock and key. Keep in mind, we’re told in the trailer that there hasn’t been a ghost sighting since 1989 (the last movie).
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Paul Rudd Explains Things
The kids in this movie don’t know anything about their grandfather or his legacy, so naturally, Paul Rudd has to tell them. After seeing the ghost trap the found among Spengler’s things, Mr. Gooberson (Rudd) shows them footage of the “Manhattan Crossrip,” which is the climatic event that rocked NYC in the first Ghostbusters. “It was like The Walking Dead,” he says. (Nice.) We then see the original Ghostbusters take a victory lap.
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No Original Busters
Besides in the clip that Mr. Gooberson shows, Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, and Dana Barrett do not appear in this trailer. They are credited on IMDB as being in this movie, though, and their appearance will no doubt play a pivotal role in uncovering the mysteries behind their disappearance and all of the supernatural activity taking place in Soomerville (green lights and mysterious mines—did Spengler lock all the ghosts away?).
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Shandor Minning Co.
This shot in the trailer shows Phoebe and another kid standing in front of some place they’re clearly not supposed to go. A sign reads “Shandor Mining Co.” Ivo Shandor was cult leader that summoned Gozer the Gozerian in the first film. Why does Spengler have a Ghostbusters enclave near mines owned by a cult leader he once tangled with? We’re sure there’s an entertaining explanation.
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The Return of Gozer Dogs
If Gozer is coming back, it wouldn’t be surprising to see those dogs again, either. Well, unless you’re Paul Rudd.
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The Ecto-1 Going Full-On 'Interstellar'
It may be tearing through a field of wheat instead of a field of corn, but damn, does it give us goosebumps.
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A Gunner Seat
"Just like burglary, the definition is 'jackin', and when illegally armed it's called 'packin'''- "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A.
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Proton Streams
While at no point in the trailer do we hear the Ghostbusters' masterful "Who you gonna call?" theme song, we do get treated to a familiar green ghost and some proton streams.
They still look pretty fucking cool.
