First Ghostbusters: Afterlife Trailer Reveals Jason Reitman’s new Generation of Ghostbusters

A new generation of Ghostbusters are upon us, and they’re coming at you from…Oklahoma? Yup. Behold the first trailer for Jason Reitman‘s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with Reitman taking on the franchise his father Ivan began in 1984. Reitman co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan (City of Ember), which builds on the events of both the original Ghostbusters and its sequel (both directed by his dad) that starred Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson. Reitman has gone on record to say he liked Paul Feig’s 2016 reimagining of the franchise, but his story will launch off from the first two films his dad made. Yet his story’s not set in New York City.

He’s got a great cast to work with. The wonderful Carrie Coon stars as Callie, mother of two Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace.) Her kids have their obsessions. Phoebe loves Science, Trevor is a budding gearhead. The family moves to Summerville, Oklahoma where they’ve inherited some property once owned by Callie’s dad. The family seems to be trying to start fresh, yet it’s in Oklahoma where weird things start to happen. The entire town seems to be in the grips of a constant earthquake, yet it sits nowhere near any faultlines. What’s going on here?

The connection to the first two Ghostbusters begins to pop up in earnest. There’s talk of the kids’ Grandpa, who was involved with the famous Ghostbusters who saved Manhattan. Speaking of Manhattan, there’s also talk of the “Manhattan Crossrip,” which was when the Ghostbusters had to fight the Sumerian God known as Gozer the Gozerian. Their grandpop’s property in Oklahoma has plenty of Ghostbusters gear, including the most famous station wagon of all time, the Ecto-1. They’ve even got a kind of Ghostbusters-whisperer, Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd) who helpfully knows a ton about the Ghostbusters, their work, and their gadgets.

The implication here seems to be that Callie, Trevor, and Phoebe are related to Harold Ramis’s Egon Spengler. The Oklahoma setting seems like a lot of fun, and probably a great way to get away from the gravitational pull of the original franchise and craft a new story, while still connecting back to those films. And connecting back will be aided by the fact that a bunch of the stars from the original films are back—Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts will all appear.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits theaters on July 10, 2020. Check out the trailer below.

Here’s the official synopsis from Sony:

From director Jason Reitman and producer Ivan Reitman, comes the next chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe. In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. The film is written by Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan.

Featured image: The theatrical poster for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Courtesy Sony Pictures