I meant to write about this when the trailer was originally released, but I was busy watching the trailer, and working. You can watch the trailer here:
I don’t know about you, but I’m in awe of this trailer. It has a good balance of story reveals and Ghostbusters action. It feels like the other movies, without feeling too much like the other movies. To me, this feels like the first time I saw the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Honestly, as a fan of all three Star Wars sequels, this really feels like the final trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That trailer highlighted how this was the final goodbye to heroes that we have seen for decades, as well as new heroes that have been part of our lives since 2015. (Little did we know that we would get more of our heroes in the years to come, but boy did that pull on the heartstrings.)
Going into Ghostbusters: Afterlife, we are again faced with that bittersweet story. A finale for our heroes. No amount of preparation over the last 20 years could have prepared me for this. Watching the final episode of my favorite TV show Boy Meets World always leaves me a mess of tears. When Jim Halpert says goodbye to Michael Scott on The Office. From the moment Sam says “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you! Come on!” in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, to Aragorn’s “For Frodo” to the moment when Gimli says “Never thought I’d die fighting side-by-side with an elf,” Legolas responding “What about side-by-side with a friend,” and Gimli saying “Aye, I could do that.” And all the way to the end of the movie. “The last pages are for you, Sam.”
Now here we are at the precipice of a mountainside, overlooking a beautiful landscape that is over 35 years of Ghostbusters history. We have lived in a world in which Egon Spengler has been alive in movies and cartoons, and on the pages of comic books. And now we are about to come face-to-face with the first Ghostbusters story in which Egon is, and is not, a part of the action. I don’t know how he factors into the story beyond family and friends, photos and old footage. But I know it’s going to hurt. And, I hope, heal.
This new Ghostbusters film seems to fit the mold of the legacyquel, and in all the right ways.
And the trailer, as I have said, shows a lot of Ghostbusters action. But it only hints at the major story beats that we’re going to be talking about, hopefully, for years to come.
I have a feeling that we’re in for something really special. I think it could lead to more films with a new team of Ghostbusters as they are introduced here. I hope it also leads to new animated series, new comics, and more content featuring Ghostbusters both new and old. I hope that Ghost Corps takes full advantage of what they have here.
And I hope for some great Ghostbusters games.
But for now, watch the trailer above.
And this trailer explanation video from director Jason Reitman.
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