Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the latest in the Ghostbusters franchise, and is a direct sequel to Ghostbusters 2 in 1989. The original starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Harold Ramis as the Ghostbusters, with Sigourney Weaver playing Murray’s love interest and “Zuul” in the first film. But are the rumours true that these stars will be returning to the franchise?
After the success of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2, a third film was in development.
However, it has been reported Bill Murray refused to commit to the project.
After Harold Ramis’ death in 2014, Sony rebooted the franchise with an all-female cast, starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, with Chris Hemsworth starring as their receptionist.
The new movie, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, will not include this in the canon and, after Sony opted not to make a sequel to this film, according to reports, the plan moved to continuing the story of the original Ghostbusters.
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The new trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife does, however, leave some questions, as it does not seem like the original stars play any part except through flashback.
The trailer opens with a family, including Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard, moving to their new home after they are evicted from their house.
They move to Summerville, Oklahoma, after inheriting an old, rickety house from their late grandfather.
Suddenly, the town starts to see some strange things occur, including earthquakes, and young Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) starts finding some strange equipment in her grandfather’s basement.
She brings this into school to show her teacher, Mr Grooberson (Paul Rudd) who teaches the children about the “Manhattan Crossrip of 1984” and how the Ghostbusters saved New York from ghosts.
Of course, this has almost become myth, until it is clear the goings-on of now are somehow connected, and the family must tap into their roots to discover how they can help the town.
In the trailer, Mr Grooberson shows the children footage from New York, including Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.
After this, those who have a good ear for voices will recognise the dulcet tones of Bill Murray at the end of the trailer.
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A voice is heard saying: “Call it fate. Call it luck. Call it karma.
“I believe that everything happens for a reason.”
Of course, this is a voice clip from the first Ghostbusters, meaning fans’ dreams could all be shattered and it may just be these characters exist only in memory of those in the story.
However, while we may not have seen Murray, Aykroyd, Weaver and Hudson actually appear in the trailer, we know full well they will be turning up soon.
It is also clear that, with Ramis having passed away in 2014, he will not be reappearing.
But of course, the family move into the home of their late grandfather, and when Phoebe is rifling through the basement she finds the overalls of “Spengler,” who was Ramis’ character.
And with the clear family resemblance of dark, curly hair, it seems very likely these kids are related to Spengler, and therefore have a duty to carry on the work of their grandfather.
How and when the other Ghostbusters turn up is yet to be seen, but fans can be sure that they will appear in the new movie, as has been confirmed by Aykroyd.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be in cinemas on July 10, 2020