Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman, who co-wrote it with Gil Kenan. It is the direct sequel to Ghostbusters II (1989), the third mainline installment and the fourth overall in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Paul Rudd, with Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson reprising their roles from the earlier films. Set three decades after the events of Ghostbusters II, it follows a single mother and her children who move to an Oklahoma farm they inherited from her estranged father Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters.
A third main Ghostbusters film had been in development since the release of Ghostbusters II, but production stalled because Bill Murray had refused to return to the series. Following Harold Ramis' death in 2014, Sony Pictures produced a female-led reboot, which was released in 2016. In January 2019, it was announced that Reitman would direct a sequel to the original films, with the new cast being announced by July, while original cast members Potts, Hudson, Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver signed on two months later. Principal photography took place from July to October of that year.
After being delayed four times from an original July 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released in the United States on November 19 by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $204 million against a $75 million budget. A sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, was released in 2024.
Plot
In Summerville, Oklahoma, Egon Spengler captures an entity in occultist Ivo Shandor's mine outside of town and lures another to his farm. He activates an elaborate setup on his property, but the power fails. Egon manages to conceal the ghost trap in his home before being attacked by the entity and suffering a fatal heart attack before the entity returns to the mine.
His estranged and financially struggling daughter Callie inherits the farm, moving there with her children, Trevor and Phoebe, after being evicted from their Chicago apartment. Trevor becomes infatuated with carhop Lucky Domingo and the scientifically minded Phoebe enrolls in a summer science class taught by seismologist Gary Grooberson, whom Callie later dates.
Phoebe discovers the farmhouse is haunted and the invisible ghost residing in it leads her to the ghost trap, which she shows to Gary and her new friend, "Podcast". Gary, a fan of the Ghostbusters, helps her learn more about them and her grandfather. He, Phoebe and Podcast tamper with the trap, releasing Vinz Clortho, Keymaster of Gozer the Gozerian, who escapes to the mine. The farm ghost leads Phoebe to Egon's underground laboratory and, after revealing himself as her grandfather, guides her in restoring the Ghostbusters' equipment.
While testing the proton pack with Podcast, Phoebe finds a ghost they call "Muncher" that haunts Shandor's foundry and flees to town. Having repaired the Ghostbusters' Ecto-1's engine with Egon's help, Trevor uses the car to chase Muncher with the duo; they capture him but are arrested for the damage incurred and their equipment is seized. Using the Ghostbusters' telephone number that she had written down, Phoebe contacts Ray Stantz for help, informing him of Egon's death. In turn, Ray tells her what became of the Ghostbusters following Vigo the Carpathian's defeat – the team had disbanded following a downturn in business and Egon then moved to Summerville with all their equipment to pursue an unspecified threat.
Shortly after, Gary is attacked and possessed by Vinz after returning the children home following a date with Callie. Egon leads Callie to a wall of detailed notes and pictures he kept of her life, showing he cared about her more than she thought. Soon after, she becomes possessed by Zuul, Gatekeeper of Gozer. Phoebe, Podcast, Lucky and Trevor find a Gozerian temple within the mine. Exploring further, they discover the long-deceased Shandor beginning to revive in his casket as automated proton cannons, installed by Egon, hinder Gozer's attempts to cross over. Vinz sabotages the cannons and performs a mating rite with Zuul, allowing Gozer to escape and take physical form. Shandor awakens and pledges his fealty to Gozer, but she immediately murders him.
The children discover Egon's "farm" is an array of ghost traps buried in a dirt field. As supernatural chaos rages throughout town, they free Muncher and use him to recover the seized ghostbusting equipment and Ecto-1, then head to the mine. Phoebe distracts Gozer so Podcast can re-capture Zuul, freeing Callie and weakening Gozer's physical form. They lure Gozer and Vinz to the trap field, but it malfunctions as Zuul possesses Lucky when rescued, fully restoring Gozer's power. Ray, along with Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore, arrive to help as Gozer, having orchestrated Egon's assassination, seeks to resume avenging her previous defeat. Supported by Egon's now-manifested ghost, Phoebe uses his proton pack to combat Gozer. The Ghostbusters assist by crossing their packs' proton streams while Trevor uses his to charge the traps' power source, allowing Callie to activate them and capture the villains. Lucky and Gary are freed from their possessions and Egon reconciles with his family and friends before ascending to the afterlife.
In a mid-credits scene, the original Ghostbusters return to New York City and Venkman is revealed to be married to Dana Barrett. In a post-credits scene, Winston, having become a wealthy entrepreneur and family man since leaving the Ghostbusters, returns the fully restored Ecto-1 to the team's old firehouse headquarters. In the basement, a light on their old ghost containment system begins to flash red.
Cast
The new film's cast was announced in July 2019, with the cast of the original film signing on two months later:
Carrie Coon as Callie Spengler Finn Wolfhard as Trevor Spengler Mckenna Grace as Phoebe Spengler Bokeem Woodbine as Sherman Domingo, the sheriff of Summerville Paul Rudd as Gary Grooberson Logan Kim as Podcast Celeste O'Connor as Lucky Domingo, a friend of Trevor's and Sheriff Domingo's daughter
Bill Murray as Peter Venkman Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett
The film's cast additionally includes Marlon Kazadi as Thickneck; Sydney Mae Diaz as Swayze; and Aykroyd's youngest daughter Stella as Deputy Medjuck, a nod to Joe Medjuck, who was an associate producer on Ghostbusters (1984), an executive producer on the subsequent films and a co-founder of production company Ghost Corps. Harold Ramis posthumously appears as Egon Spengler in archived clips and photographs taken from Ghostbusters (1984). Bob Gunton (credited as "The Ghost Farmer") additionally portrayed living and ghostly versions of Egon, using prosthetics and digital makeup respectively, with Ivan Reitman standing in for the latter in some shots. J. K. Simmons portrayed Ivo Shandor, the leader of a Gozer-worshiping cult responsible for Gozer's presences in the modern world. Simmons took the role as a token of friendship with the Reitmans, with whom he frequently collaborates in films like Jason's Juno and Father Figures, co-produced by Ivan. Olivia Wilde, who portrayed Mesopotamian deity Inanna in Ramis' final film Year One, physically portrayed Gozer, previously portrayed by Slavitza Jovan and Paddi Edwards in voice in the original film, with Shohreh Aghdashloo providing the character's voice and Emma Portner portraying her spiritual form. Josh Gad was one of many actors who contributed to the voice of Muncher, a metal-eating ghost of a miner conjured after a séance went wrong at Summerville's local foundry in the 1940s. Ira Heiden (a friend of Jason Reitman's), Sarah Natochenny and Shelby Young provided the vocal effects of the Mini-Pufts, miniature doppelgängers of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, but were not credited for their performances.
Production Development
As Ghostbusters III In the early 1990s, following the release of Ghostbusters II, Dan Aykroyd wrote a script for a third Ghostbusters film tentatively titled Ghostbusters III: Hellbent. In the script, the Ghostbusters are transported to a parallel-universe version of Manhattan called Manhellton, where the people and places are "hellish" versions of Earth, and the characters meet and confront the Devil. At the time, Aykroyd stated that Columbia Pictures was interested, though the principal actors, especially Bill Murray, were not. The Hellbent script's main characters are a new, younger group of Ghostbusters; Ray, Egon and Winston struggle to keep the business going after Peter's relationship with Dana becomes serious. Elements of this story were used in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009), which Aykroyd considered to be "essentially the third movie". At various stages of its development, Chris Farley, Chris Rock and Ben Stiller were reported as potential stars of a new Ghostbusters film.
By 2004, Columbia had begun pursuing a sequel but Murray, who disliked sequels, was uninterested in the project. The following year, Harold Ramis confirmed plans to introduce Stiller into the principal cast. By 2009, the project had failed to progress, but by January 2010, Ivan Reitman, director of the first two Ghostbusters films, confirmed he would direct a third one. Also in March, Murray discussed development of the film and his mixed feelings about reprising his role. A release was scheduled for Christmas 2012. That October, Aykroyd commented on the screenplay written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, stating that he was particularly impressed with the writing of Murray's character and the implementation of the new team with the original while he and Ramis worked on a second draft of the script.
By August 2011, Aykroyd stated that filming was scheduled to begin later that year with a story focused on passing the Ghostbusters mantle to the younger actors. When Murray decided against reprising his role, Aykroyd said another actor might replace him. Aykroyd also said he wanted retired actor Rick Moranis to return as Louis Tully. By February 2012, the film was placed on hold as the production team re-evaluated the project. Without Murray, the studio searched for replacement actors and considered including his character as a CGI-rendered ghost. In June, Murray again acknowledged all involved were attempting to develop the third film before dropping out of the film the following month. In July, Aykroyd confirmed the film was back in development with a script re-write from Etan Cohen. Aykroyd said of the script: "It's got to be perfect. That's the whole thing. There's no point in doing it unless it's perfect. So that's what we're up to now." By September, Reitman announced the developments of a remake. In May 2013, Aykroyd discussed plot points including real experiments being done by college students at Columbia University as a source of inspiration. The plot would revolve around research being done by the university, which would bring about threats from other dimensions. A new team of Ghostbusters would form to save Earth's plane of existence from supernatural threats. The script reportedly included Murray's character with hopes Murray would decide to join the production.
Following the death of Ramis on February 24, 2014, Sony/Columbia stated that Ramis would appear in a cameo appearance in the film. The film was delayed again to rework the script. By March 2015, Reitman was no longer attached to direct the third film, but would remain as producer, with plans to begin principal photography by early 2015. Weaver wanted her character's son to feature as a member of the team, and Reitman said he had already been included in the script.
As Ghostbusters: Afterlife