Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Gil Kenan. Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd feature in the film, while Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts reprise their roles from the previous films. It is the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise and the sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), both directed by Reitman’s father Ivan, who also acts as producer.
A single woman and her two children travel to a tiny town in Oklahoma thirty years after the events of the second film, where they uncover their link to the original Ghostbusters and their grandfather’s hidden heritage.
Since the release of Ghostbusters II in 1989, a third Ghostbusters feature has been in different stages of development, stalling due to Murray’s refusal to commit to the project. Following the death of cast member Harold Ramis in 2014, Sony instead created a revival, which was released in 2016. After the film’s box office failure, Reitman began work on a sequel to the original flicks. By July 2019, the new cast members had been announced, although the original cast had signed on two months earlier. From July through October, filming took place.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was unannouncedly played on August 23, 2021, at the 2021 CinemaCon event in Las Vegas. It is set to be published in the United States on November 19, 2021, having been postponed four times from an initial July 2020 release date owing to the COVID-19 epidemic. Critics have given the picture mostly excellent reviews, with acclaim for its performances, Reitman’s directing, musical soundtrack, and nostalgic tone, but criticism for being unduly focused on fan service.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) Synopsis
After being evicted from their home, a single mother and her two children are forced to relocate to a decaying farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma, left to them by the children’s late grandfather, where a series of unexplained earthquakes occur despite being located on no-fault and strange things occur in an old mine once owned by the alleged occultist Ivo Shandor.
The children learn of their grandfather’s involvement with the original Ghostbusters, who have now been mostly forgotten by the public outside of their fan group.
When supernatural phenomena related to New York City’s “Manhattan Crossrip of 1984” occur and threaten the world, the kids, along with their family and friends, must solve the decades-old mystery of their grandfather’s relocation and use the Ghostbusters’ equipment, becoming their successors, to save it.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) Movie Info
| Directed by | Jason Reitman |
| Written by | · Gil Kenan
· Jason Reitman |
| Based on | Ghostbusters by Dan Aykroyd Harold Ramis |
| Produced by | Ivan Reitman |
| Cinematography | Eric Steelberg |
| Edited by | · Dana E. Glauberman
· Nathan Orloff |
| Music by | Rob Simonsen |
| Production companies |
· Columbia Pictures
· Bron Creative · Ghost Corps · The Montecito Picture Company · Right of Way Films |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
| Release date | · August 23, 2021 (CinemaCon)
· November 19, 2021 (United States) |
| Running time
Genre |
125 minutes
Comedy, Fantasy |
| Country
Filming Locations |
United States
Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Language | English |
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) Cast
- Mckenna Grace as Phoebe Spengler
- Finn Wolfhard as Trevor Spengler
- Carrie Coon as Callie Spengler
- Paul Rudd as Chad Grooberson
- Logan Kim as Podcast
- Celeste O’Connor as Lucky
- Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman
- Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond
- Ernie Hudson as Dr. Winston Zeddemore
- Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett
- Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz
- Oliver Cooper as Elton
- Bokeem Woodbine as Sheriff Domingo
- Marlon Kazadi as Thickneck
- Sydney Mae Diaz as Swayze
- Tracy Letts as Jack
Casting
Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Carrie Coon were cast as the sister and brother with their single mother, respectively, in March 2019. Grace, according to Reitman, is a huge fan of the series and a natural fit for his teenage-girl Ghostbusters concept. Wolfhard was doubtful if he would win the part because he had already dressed up as a Ghostbuster during the second season of Stranger Things, and “Jason Reitman is probably not even going to look at my footage” as a result.
On June 27, 2019, Paul Rudd posted a video on the official Ghostbusters social media channels indicating that he has been cast in the film. He was subsequently revealed to be Mr. Grooberson, the children’s new teacher who is aware of the Ghostbusters’ heritage. Celeste O’Connor and Logan Kim, both newcomers, were added to the cast in July 2019.
Furthermore, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts have stated that they will reprise their roles from the original two Ghostbusters flicks.
Production
To stay loyal to the first Ghostbusters film, Reitman and the production team studied the designs of the ghosts and other supernatural creatures from the first film to create the ones for Afterlife, noting that virtually everyone from the original film had an original and distinct look. This resulted in the creation of Muncher, a ghost akin to Slimer, for Afterlife. “Something occurred to Slimer over the years that people started thinking of him as the dalmatian of the firehouse,” Reitman said. We wanted to return to the original Slimer’s aggressive and frightening demeanor.
Filming
Principal photography began on July 12, 2019, in Calgary, Alberta, and surrounding areas under the working title “Rust City,” and continued until October. During the months of July and August 2019, filming took conducted in nearby areas such as Crossfield, Beiseker, and Drumheller. Other areas in Alberta were also utilized. On October 18, 2019, Reitman confirmed the completion of filming with a photo on his Instagram account.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) Release
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was set to be released in the United States on July 10, 2020, by Sony Pictures Releasing, however it was pushed back to March 5, 2021, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, seizing Uncharted’s release date. Sony pushed the film’s release date back to June 11, 2021 on October 21, 2020, then again in January 2021 to November 11, 2021. The film was postponed again in September 2021, this time to November 19, 2021, taking the release date of Top Gun: Maverick.
The film was unannouncedly screened on August 23, 2021, during the 2021 CinemaCon event in Las Vegas. Fans were also treated to a special screening of the film at the 2021 New York Comic-Con.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) Reaction
The film has a 72 percent acceptance rating based on 47 reviews on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7/10. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife bridges the divide between franchise rebirth and exercise in nostalgia — and this time around, the bustin’ largely feels nice,” said the site’s critics. The film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 on Metacritic, signifying “mixed or mediocre reviews.”
The film’s cast, according to Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter, is “engaging” and “[has] the comedy beats down,” and “they also portray more completely realized personalities than the previous picture gave, reflecting the director’s emphasis in character-driven storylines.” She also noticed parallels between the film and Stranger Things, The Wizard of Oz, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Empire’s Olly Richards scored the film four out of five stars, calling it “thoroughly charming” and concluding that it “firmly creates its own new generation” while being “full of respect for the originals.”
Variety’s Peter Debruge called the picture “unnecessary yet delightful,” adding, “The good news for Ghostbusters aficionados is that Afterlife does nothing to ruin what has come before.”
“Those who adored the 1984 picture and who truly hoped a new episode of Ghostbusters to offer anything different… may be disappointed, but they can probably accept for Afterlife’s sleek and simple, predictable artistry,” stated William Bibbiani of TheWrap. Forbes’ Scott Mendelson scored the film a 6 out of 10, calling it a “charming and humorous kid-centric coming-of-age fantasy,” while criticizing its dependence on “pandering” nostalgic fanservice.
In his review of the film, Christian Holub of Entertainment Weekly was harsher, awarding it a C+ and calling it as “a sharp reminder of how much of current American culture consists of unearthing the wreckage of former triumphs.” The A.V. Club’s Jesse Hassenger awarded the film a C, noting that it “wants desperately to relive the experience of seeing the original picture in 1984. It turns out to be ghastly in the wrong manner.”
“Yet with all the memories jammed into the picture, its own restored individuality is little damaged, operating as a mimeograph of what came before it,” wrote Courtney Howard of IndieWire. “Here, we may discover a scathing description of modern Hollywood’s default mode – a nostalgic object, stripped of individuality and fitted into a dully digestible mold, custom-made for a following that worships everything and respects nothing,” wrote Charles Bramesko of The Guardian.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Release Dates
| USA | 8 October 2021 | (New York Comic Con) (premiere) |
| Italy | 14 October 2021 | (Rome Film Festival) |
| Chile | November 2021 | |
| Hungary | November 2021 | |
| Cambodia | November 2021 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 11 November 2021 | |
| Indonesia | 17 November 2021 | |
| Argentina | 18 November 2021 | |
| Brazil | 18 November 2021 | |
| Chile | 18 November 2021 | |
| Germany | 18 November 2021 | |
| Denmark | 18 November 2021 | |
| Hong Kong | 18 November 2021 | |
| Hungary | 18 November 2021 | |
| Italy | 18 November 2021 | |
| Cambodia | 18 November 2021 | |
| Mexico | 18 November 2021 | |
| Netherlands | 18 November 2021 | |
| Portugal | 18 November 2021 | |
| Singapore | 18 November 2021 | |
| Slovakia | 18 November 2021 | |
| Canada | 19 November 2021 | |
| Cameroon | 19 November 2021 | |
| France | 19 November 2021 | (internet) |
| UK | 19 November 2021 | |
| Ireland | 19 November 2021 | |
| India | 19 November 2021 | |
| Iceland | 19 November 2021 | |
| Lithuania | 19 November 2021 | |
| Poland | 19 November 2021 | |
| Sweden | 19 November 2021 | |
| Turkey | 19 November 2021 | |
| USA | 19 November 2021 | |
| Croatia | 25 November 2021 | |
| Bulgaria | 26 November 2021 | |
| Finland | 26 November 2021 | |
| Latvia | 26 November 2021 | |
| Taiwan | 26 November 2021 | |
| France | 1 December 2021 | |
| South Korea | 1 December 2021 | |
| Malaysia | 2 December 2021 | |
| Russia | 2 December 2021 | |
| Spain | 3 December 2021 | |
| Norway | 3 December 2021 | |
| Australia | 1 January 2022 | |
| Philippines | 26 January 2022 |
Also Known As (AKA)
| (original title) | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Argentina | Ghostbusters: El legado |
| Australia | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Austria | Ghostbusters: Legacy |
| Brazil | Ghostbusters: Mais Além |
| Bulgaria (Bulgarian title) | Ловци на духове: Наследство |
| Canada (English title) (working title) | Bust City |
| Canada (English title) | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Canada (French title) | SOS fantômes: L’au-delà |
| Chile | Ghostbusters: El Legado |
| Colombia | Ghostbusters: El Legado |
| Croatia | Istjerivači duhova: Naslijeđe |
| Czechia | Krotitelé duchů: Odkaz |
| Finland | Ghostbusters 3 – Afterlife |
| France (alternative transliteration) | S.O.S. fantômes 3 |
| France | S.O.S. fantômes: L’héritage |
| Germany | Ghostbusters: Legacy |
| Hong Kong (Cantonese title) | 捉鬼敢死隊 |
| Hungary | Szellemirtók: Az örökség |
| India (Hindi title) | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| India (English title) | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Indonesia (English title) | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Ireland (English title) | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Italy | Ghostbusters: Legacy |
| Japan (Japanese title) | ゴーストバスターズ／アフターライフ |
| Latvia | Spoku mednieki: Viņā pusē |
| Lithuania | Vaiduoklių medžiotojai: Iš anapus |
| Mexico | Ghostbusters: El Legado |
| Netherlands | Ghostbusters: Legacy |
| Philippines (English title) | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Poland | Pogromcy duchów. Dziedzictwo |
| Portugal | Caça-Fantasmas: O Legado |
| Russia | Охотники за привидениями: Наследники |
| Serbia | Истеривачи духова: Наслеђе |
| Singapore (English title) | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Slovakia | Krotitelia duchov: Dedičstvo |
| Slovenia | Izganjalci duhov: Zapuščina |
| South Korea | 고스트버스터즈 라이즈 |
| Spain | Cazafantasmas: Más allá |
| Sweden | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Turkey (Turkish title) (working title) | Hayalet Avcilari 2020 |
| Turkey (Turkish title) | Hayalet Avcıları: Öteki Dünya |
| Ukraine | Мисливці на привидів: З того світу |
| United Arab Emirates | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| UK | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| USA (fake working title) | Rust City |
| USA | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| Vietnam | Biệt Đội Săn Ma: Chuyển Kiếp |
| (working title) | Ghostbusters 2020 |
| (informal title) | Ghostbusters 3 |