Ghostbusters: Afterlife reveals return for classic character in new trailer

Who ya gonna call?

Ghostbusters: Afterlife has received a charming new trailer introducing us to the new cast of characters and giving us a look into some of the plot themes of legacy and family. Carrie Coon will play Callie, the daughter of late Dr. Egon Spengler and Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard will play Callies kids.

Its no secret that the film will be picking up where Ghostbusters II left off, but the trailer has left us with a few questions..

Ghostbusters: Afterlife – is it Ghostbusters III?

An official Ghostbusters III has been in talks for years and with the first film hitting cinemas nearly 4 decades ago, it does beg the question – is it too late for Ghostbusters III?

Ghostbusters: Hellbent

Its no secret that many attempts had been made to get a second sequel off the ground all throughout the 1990s, but unfortunately all we were left with was a brief cameo from Dan Akyroyd in 1995s Casper to keep the spark alive. One of the more public pitches at a third film would’ve followed the original gang in a parallel hell scape version of Manhattan (the creatively titled Manhellton) and saw its first draft completed in 1999. Titled Ghostbusters: Hellbent, the script saw many revisions until 2007 when it was ultimately dropped.

You can see a fantastic discussion on the cancelled sequel over on Cinemassacres Youtube channel

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Its believed a version of this script was modified for the 2009 Ghostbusters: The Video Game, with the threat of the of the ghost world merging with the mortal realm paralleling the dropped Manhellton plot from Hellbent. The game has been since lorded as an underappreciated gem, serving as a what could have been scenario if a third film had surfaced, though never confirmed as canon.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call

The last time we saw live action Ghostbusting was during 2016s Ghostbusters (later rebranded as Ghostbusters: Answer the Call for home release) to incredibly mixed reviews. The film saw an all new cast of female scientists-turned-Ghostbusters and loosely follows a similar narrative to the 1984 classic. Following the death of original Ghostbuster co-writer and star Harold Ramis, the film aimed to serve a reimagining of the Ghostbusters lore taking place in an alternate universe. As much as it seemed to leave a bad taste in the mouths of fans, the film never aimed to be Ghostbusters III, reinforced by many of the original cast returning but not as their original characters.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

January 2019 however gave Ghostbusters fans the announcement they’d been anticipating for 35 years – a new film continuing from the original two films, co-written and directed by none other than the son of the original films director, Jason Reitman. The film titled Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be the second sequel to the first Ghostbusters classic and looks to serve the concepts of legacy and family while moving away from a Ney York backdrop.

Ray’s Occult Books returns

The new trailer closes with a brief scene framing an arm and red telephone:

The eagle eyed will recognise this as the interior of none other than Ray’s Occult Books, the store Ray runs during the events of Ghostbusters II.

Dan Akyroyd has always spoken highly and positively about the attempts to get a faithful third film in development and it feels incredibly fitting to have Ray briefly return for the last few seconds of the trailer.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife will hit cinemas 12 November 2021 in the UK and will see the torch passed on to a younger generation helmed by the grandkids of the late Harold Ramis’ character Dr. Egon Spengler.