'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' Characters Have Strong Familial Ties to Egon Spengler

Ever since it was announced that Jason Reitman (son of Ivan Reitman) was going to direct a new Ghostbusters movie, people have been wondering just what angle it would take. We had that awesome, hilarious all-female reboot a couple of years ago, but this movie, called Ghostbusters: Afterlife, will continue the story of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis)... or their relatives, at least.  

The trailer introduces Spengler's daughter Callie (Carrie Coon), and her two kids, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (McKenna Grace). They're in the process of moving to an old, dilapidated farmhouse, which is soon to revealed as a house left to them by Spengler himself. 

Trevor and his friends come across an ominous well with a bright green light glowing from its depths, the town starts shaking even though it's not near a fault line, and it becomes clear that there is something spooky going on. 

Science teacher Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd — looking fine as always) is the resident ghostbuster historian of the movie, educating the kids on the history of ghost sightings and those who fought them (he refers only to the original 1984 Ghostbusters; the 2016 version is pretty much left out of this movie). 

In the dark, dank basement of the old farm house, Phoebe comes across all manner of ghostbusting gear from her grandfather's day, including a ghost trap (which fascinates Mr. Grooberson) and Spengler's original suit. This places Ghostbusters: Afterlife firmly in the universe of the original, and we can't wait to see what else didn't make it into the trailer.

One thing that did make it into the trailer is that they stumble across the old Ecto 1 car in the old barn...and it runs! Right through a wheat field.  Not to mention Phoebe looks like a tiny little Spengler herself. The glasses and curly hair were in no way an accident. 

Unfortunately, Harold Ramis, who played Dr. Egon Spengler, passed away. But Ray Stantz himself, Dan Aykroyd, confirmed that the original cast will return, with a tribute to Harold Ramis, according to ComicBook.com. 

In an appearance on The Greg Hill Show, Dan said, "We paid tribute to [Harold Ramis] in the movie that Paul Feig made with the girls, he was there in a bust, and Billy and I showed up to work on that because he had faith on that vision. So we paid tribute to Harold there, and of course, we'll recognize him in this film in some way, however small."

According to Dan, the new movie is really about handing the reins to a new generation of ghostbusters, and he promises that it will be many things at once, among them "scary," "thought-provoking," and "heartfelt." Well, I don't know about you, but I'm emotional just thinking about it. 

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set to be released on July 10, 2020. It promises to be the hit of the summer.