Five years after 2016’s Ghostbusters: Answer the Call failed to resurrect the franchise, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is giving it another go. Instead of straight-up rebooting it like last time, Afterlife takes the much more fashionable legacy sequel route, uniting new characters with old fan favorites. Yes, the OG Ghostbusters are back in this new movie — and the latest trailer teases their return. Check it out via the tweet from Sony Pictures below:
This new minute-long promo gets things off to a nostalgic start by playing a quote from the original film over the top of new footage: Dan Aykroyd’s Ray Stantz ominously reading from the Bible’s Book of Revelations. The action then switches to McKenna Grace’s Phoebe and Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor, the grandkids of Egon (the late Harold Ramis) and their teacher Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd), who warns that “the gates of hell” have been opened.
Luckily for the world, some old heroes are about to suit up again to save the day. Though the trailer stops short of showing their faces, its final shot features three fellas in familiar suits and armed with iconic weapons. And there’s no mistaking the voice of Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman saying “Have you missed us?” Even the little Stay-Puft guys are excited.
New movies in popular franchises that coast by on nostalgia can be controversial — see: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — but early reviews for Afterlife have been very positive, so it looks like this one manages to do it the right way. From director Jason Reitman, son of original filmmaker Ivan Reitman, it promises to be a worthy reignition of the series that could make Ghostbusters popular with a whole new generation as well as satisfying old-school fans.
Also co-starring Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Coon, Ghostbusters: Afterlife opens in theaters on November 19th.
