Today’s just not quite as exciting as it was supposed to be, as the anticipated sequelGhostbusters: Afterlifewas originally scheduled to premiere on this day. Originally given a release date of August 22, 2025, the national shutdown of movie theaters had forced Sony to push back the movie until Spring 2021. As of now, the Jason Reitman-directed movie is set to make its long-awaited premiere on June 23, 2025, so as long as the movie theater business is a bit more “back to normal” by the time we reach that point next year.
What’s most exciting about the new movie for longtimeGhostbustersfans is the new movie’s storyline connections to the original two movies from director Ivan Reitman. In 2016, Paul Feig rebooted the series with an all-new cast, and while many original actors provided cameo appearances, the release was met with heavy criticism from fans. One of the complaints fans had about the reboot was how it seemed to abandon the canon established by the original movies, and it seemed like more people were interested in revisiting the universe of the originalGhostbusters.
Fortunately,Ghostbusters: Afterlifeis looking to rectify this mistake. Primarily, the new movie will follow a new cast of characters led by Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd. Original cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts will also be returning to reprise their roles from the first two movies. It’s also clear from the trailer that the movie will be filled with references to the originalGhostbustersmovies, with Rudd’s character taking a particular interest in what happened with thefamous spirit-hunting teamin New York over three decades ago.
Of course,Ghostbusters: Afterlifeis not the only anticipated release to be given apainful premiere delay, as nearly every major release set for this year has gotten similar treatment. Just this week, it was announced that the upcoming slasher sequelHalloween Killswill premiere in October 2021 instead of October 2020, as was the original plan. Other major horror movie releases, the upcoming sequelThe Forever Purgeand Nia DaCosta’sCandymanreboot, have also been pushed back from the original release dates. Given these recent announcements, it’s now looking like there’s a good chance next month’s Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter sequelBill & Ted Face the Musiccould see a delay as well.
Oddly enough, the originalGhostbusters has been dominating the box officeat a time when the newest movie was unable to be released. The classic movie from 1984 won the 4th of July weekend box office, proving that the original movies are just as popular today as they were when they were first released. It’s going to be hard to wait until July 08, 2025, whenGhostbusters: Afterlifefinally makes its way into theaters, but for now, we can always revisit the originals. To further think about what youcouldhave been seeing this weekend, you can watch the official trailer forGhostbusters: Afterlifebelow, courtesy ofSony on YouTube.
