The release schedule for major theatrical tentpoles has been such a collapsing house of cards ever since the summer that it’s easy to miss that some of the pushed-back films never actually received new release dates when their initial releases were canceled. One of such films: Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was originally supposed to roll out on July 10, 2020. Clearly, that didn’t happen, falling during a period of the pandemic when every major theatrical chain was still closed. Even now, Regal cinemas have recently closed once again, while AMC is headed in the opposite direction, finally beginning to open up theaters in previously closed locations such as New York.
As for the new Ghostbusters—seems like pretty much everyone has just started ignoring the previous, female-fronted reboot at this point—Sony Pictures said its new release date is moving from March to June 11, 2021. That’s actually the same weekend as the original Ghostbusters was released on in 1984, which seems especially fitting given that director Jason Reitman is the son of original director Ivan Reitman. It also plays into the company’s attempt to project a Ghostbusters project that is as close to the original as possible, after the financial disappointment of the 2016 reboot.
Afterlife is anchored by Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Paul Rudd, with returning cast members from the series that include Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson. Sadly, the likes of Harold Ramis are no longer with us, but there are expected to be cameos from other original Ghostbusters cast members as well. The screenplay, meanwhile, is from Reitman and Gil Kenan, and focuses on “a single mom and her two kids who arrive in a small town and begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.” The marketing materials seem to hint pretty hard that Egon Spengler was that grandfather.
Regardless, it’s been so long at this point that you might forget that a full trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released in December of 2019. Check that out below while we wait for more Ghostbusters news.