The trailer for “Ghostbuster’s Afterlife” just dropped and this isn’t your father’s “Ghostbusters” movie. The trailer depicts a movie far removed from the others that came before it. The familiar backdrop of New York City is replaced with a rural town. We see a single mother and her two children who, as the trailer continues, is bestowed their grandfather’s legacy – The Ghostbuster’s paraphernalia which includes the Ecto-1. As we see throughout the trailer it would seem that the kids depicted are the protagonists here and have to make full use of what’s been passed down to lay some newly risen spirits to rest. The overall tone of the trailer seems to draw heavily from the “Stranger Things” Netflix series presenting a much more somber tone than any of the movies prior. The casting of “Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard as one of the young protagonists would seem to cement that. A choice for a new generation maybe?
This switch in tone is an interesting one. It’s easy to see how purists of the franchise would be offset by this. No comedic elements were presented, as we have been accustomed to, which includes the oddball relationship of four characters thrust together in the pursuit of apparitions. What the producers have done here with their thematic choices is shed the shackles that would otherwise be binding them to a formula. A formula that would almost be impossible to recreate. The comedic team of Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis plus Ernie Hudson as the straight man to the bumbling trio was literally lightning (or rather a charged particle beam) in a bottle. Something the 2016 reboot tried to create and succeed with good measure but not quite with the explosion of chemistry the original cast had. It would appear that instead of trying to recreate that magic, this new iteration is trying to draw strength from it. And aim it at a new, younger market. A bold and strategic move.
Unfortunately, there are many that may feel dissatisfied as this movie distances itself from the 2016 reboot entirely, a completely valid sentiment from anyone that was a fan of the 2016 film. If you look at the picture from a slightly different angle it shows more as a move to increase the longevity of the franchise through a new audience while stamping the “Ghostbusters” as a legacy.
Written by Victor Mercado
