We knew that Jason Reitman’s upcoming Ghostbusters sequel would continue the story of a world profoundly changed after ghosts descended upon New York City, and an ancient god breached an interdimensional portal with the intention of destroying humanity. But some newly released information about the film makes it seem that the story’s going to bring things back down to Earth with a story about family.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Reitman explained that Ghostbusters: Afterlife will revolve around Callie (Carrie Coon), her daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), and her son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) who move to Oklahoma, of all places, when the family suddenly comes into the possession of an old house left to Callie by her father—a man whose identity is as much of a mystery to her as it is to us.
“As the family arrives at an old farm, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters,” Reitman said. “Trevor and Phoebe are about to find out who their grandfather was and whether they’re ready to pick up the proton pack themselves.”
Oklahoma’s a far cry from New York, which was devastated by what Reitman described as the “Manhattan Crossrip” that allowed ghosts to make their way into the earthly dimension, an event that many people don’t exactly believe in now that decades have passed. What the family doesn’t initially know is that they’ve got an important connection to the original squad of Ghostbusters who saved the world in the original films.
But once they arrive on their new land and start poking around the old farm, they stumble upon some intriguing pieces of Ghostbuster tech. Trevor, who’s into cars, gravitates towards the rusty Ecto-1, while science prodigy Phoebe grabs herself a PKE meter—and it isn’t long before Callie and her kids are going to end up facing off against ghosts.
Strange and new as this all is to the family, it’s all very much in the wheelhouse of summer school teacher Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd). He remembers the Manhattan Crossrip vividly, and he’s more than down to help them out on the journey they’re about to embark upon.
What jumps out about Ghostbusters: Afterlife is that—unlike all of the previous Ghostbusters films—it seems as if it’s going to feature much more open space and countryside as opposed to dense urban areas, which could lead to some novel, new kinds of run-ins with ghosts. Given that Callie doesn’t know who her father is and the movie’s about a family of ghost, well, busters, it stands to reason that her coming into the original Ghostbusters’ gear is anything but a coincidence. For now, though, your guess as to how this all ties together is as good as anyone else’s.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits theaters some time in 2020.
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