Scary Dad
Ahead of the trailer launch on Monday, Sony has released a teaser poster and several select stills from the highly-hankered for “Ghostbusters” threequel – officially sworn in as “Ghostbusters : Afterlife”.
In the new film, Carrie Coon is mom Callie, Mckenna Grace is her science-obsessed daughter Phoebe, and Finn Wolfhard is gearhead son Trevor. They have left everything they know and moved to a small town in Oklahoma after inheriting property from the father she didn’t know.
Director Jason Reitman tells Vanity Fair, that the film “is a new adventure that connects back to the Manhattan Crossrip of 1984.”
“As the family arrives at an old farm, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters,” Reitman said. “Trevor and Phoebe are about to find out who their grandfather was and whether they’re ready to pick up the proton pack themselves.”
While Reitman doesn’t confirm it, fact he said “was” suggests their grandfather is the late Egon Spengler, played by Harold Ramis, who died in 2014.
In the collapsing barn of their farmhouse, they find an old car, bloomed with rust, hidden beneath a tarp—the retro-ambulance turned ghost-hunting mobile. In this shot, Trevor lays eyes on his new ride for the first time, originally hinted at a year ago in the movie’s teaser.
The cinematographer on the film is Eric Steelberg, who has known Jason Reitman since they were teenagers and worked with him on all of his films.
Elsewhere in the house, which is packed with a mountain of books and lots of bizarre technology, Phoebe will find a device that reads psychokinetic energy. Ghostbusters fans will recognize that immediately as a tool of the trade from the original movies.
“The joy of cowriting a film like this is imagining the sound of Ecto-1’s engine revving back to life or the moment a PKE meter lights up for the first time and begins leading you toward your destiny,” said Reitman, who co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan.
While her brother tinkers with the car, Phoebe finds herself transfixed by the mystery of their new town—not just by the peculiar subjects in their dilapidated home, but strange rumblings from a nearby mine. In this shot, she and her schoolmate (played by Logan Kim) ignore warning signs to venture closer to the abandoned and dangerous place.
Fortunately, they have a summer school teacher named Mr. Grooberson (played by Paul Rudd) who was a kid when the Manhattan Crossrip occurred. Although later generations may think of it as a myth, or not think of it at all, he remembers it obsessively and is excited to pass on what he knows.
Above we see the teacher stunned to be holding an actual ghost trap. It’s been a while since he’s seen anything like this, and never this close.
As it all starts to come together, we’ll likely start seeing the original crew – played by Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson – turn up.
“Ghostbusters : Afterlife” is released next summer.
