The title of ‘most pointless production company in Hollywood’ could well belong to Sony’s Ghost Corps, which was founded in March 2015 to be spearheaded by Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman and star Dan Akroyd, because the studio were so confident that Paul Feig’s reboot would be a massive success.
As we all know, though, it turned out to be one of the most polarizing blockbusters of the modern era, and Ghost Corps’ second project will finally land this summer when Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits theaters. The movie will look to give fans the genuine sequel they’ve been waiting for since 1989, as Jason Reitman picks up from where his father left off and brings the majority of the original gang back together for good measure.
The first trailer was promising, even if it invited comparisons to Stranger Things from a lot of fans, and the key to making Afterlife work is to balance the blend of newness and nostalgia, something a lot of long delayed remakes, reboots or continuations fail to do. Of course, it remains to be seen how things will turn out, but in a recent interview, Reitman revealed that his old man was brought to tears by the first screening of the film.
“My father hasn’t been leaving the house much because of COVID, but he took a test, put on a mask, and drove down to the Sony lot to watch the movie with the studio. And after it ended, he cried, and he said, ‘I’m so proud to be your father’. And it was one of the great moments of my life.”
Obviously, saying ‘my dad liked it’ is far from a ringing endorsement that’ll carry much sway with general audiences, but there’s real hope that Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be a solid return to form for the franchise. Young stars McKenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard are proven talents, new additions Paul Rudd and J.K. Simmons are welcome in just about anything, and Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts will keep the old guard well represented. Fingers crossed, then, that the third canonical entry in the series delivers on the increasing expectations when it arrives in June.