If this were a normal Friday, moviegoers would be heading to theaters to see Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the latest attempt to recapture the magic of the original 1984 film directed by his father, Ivan Reitman. But as everyone knows, there is nothing normal about this Friday or anything else at the moment. Movie theaters around the country remain closed on account of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 132,000 Americans so far, and any hope for a swift reopening of venues has been dashed. Coronavirus cases in the United States continue to soar, and movie theaters remain locked in a fight with local officials about the next steps; just this week, theater owners sued New Jersey for the right to open.
Even so, the expectation is that Hollywood studios will once again release movies theatrically in the near future. Disney’s Mulan and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet are now scheduled for release in August, after being pushed back from their previous release dates, and executives and theater owners are crossing their fingers that movie theaters, once open, can remain unbothered and a safe harbor for audiences throughout the remainder of the year.
That would be good news for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Now set for release on March 5, 2021, the sequel ties directly to the events of both Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II and features Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts all reprising their roles from those blockbuster comedies. (The story does not connect to the 2016 reboot film directed by Paul Feig and starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.) “If I think about who I’m making this movie for, it’s my father,” Jason Reitman told Vanity Fair. “We all know what it’s like to be told stories by our parents. I’m really honored to get a chance to tell one back to him from the world he brought to life.”
So, while fans wait at least another eight months to see the film, here are some recommendations for what to watch instead.
Ghostbusters (1984)
How weird is 2020? Well, a reissue of Ghostbusters was the number one movie over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, grossing $550,000 from drive-in venues over the three-day frame. The 1984 blockbuster remains one of the most beloved, oft-copied comedies of all time. There’s a good reason, of course: It’s still incredibly funny and features one of Bill Murray’s most memorable characters. But rewatching the film before Ghostbusters: Afterlife is almost a requirement. The new movie ties directly to the original and will deal with the absence of Harold Ramis, who played Egon Spengler in the first film and its sequel. Ramis died in 2014. “Well, we are a man down. That’s the deal,” Murray said to Vanity Fair on the set last year. “And that’s the story that we’re telling, that’s the story they’ve written.”
Ghostbusters (2016)
Relentlessly attacked by sexist trolls (including the future president himself) in the lead-up to its release, Paul Feig’s all-female reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise has not necessarily withstood the test of time. (The film will be ignored in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, for instance, because it takes place in another cinematic universe.) But that’s a bit unfortunate. While nowhere near as indelible as its predecessors, Ghostbusters is notable for being the only film yet to give Leslie Jones a big, deserved lead role and to know exactly what to do with Kate McKinnon. Unsurprisingly, both of them rule here, a fact that only four years later seems worth remembering and embracing.
See You Yesterday
At its core, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a hand-off movie to the younger generation. Afterlife stars Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard as a pair of kids with a connection to the original characters who move to a small town with their single mom (played by Carrie Coon). “Before I ever thought I could make a Ghostbusters film, the image of a 12-year-old girl carrying a proton pack popped into my head and just wouldn’t leave. Eventually, I knew who she was,” Reitman told Vanity Fair of Grace, who plays the film’s central figure. “I’m floored by the idea of what it would be like to find a proton pack in your grandparents’ basement. What would that discovery reveal about who you are and what adventures you’re about to go on?” In the Spike Lee–produced See You Yesterday, the idea of a youngster using science to go on an adventure is given a timely sense of urgency. The film, which won best first screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards last year, focuses on a young girl who builds a time machine that she hopes to use to stop her brother from being shot and killed by a police officer.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
As with Top Gun: Maverick, which would have come out in June had it not been for the coronavirus, the new Ghostbusters film qualifies as something of a legacyquel—sequels or reboots that include original stars alongside a new generation of actors. And while stuff like Creed or Star Wars: The Force Awakens is often cited as premier examples of the genre, we’d humbly suggest a visit to the much-derided Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a movie that far exceeds its poor reputation and includes a bunch of really incredible set pieces (not to mention a delicious performance from Cate Blanchett).
Super 8
A nostalgia play to the Amblin-era of summer movies that dominated the 1980s, J.J. Abrams’s oft-forgotten coming-of-age science-fiction thriller combines elements of Stand by Me, The Twilight Zone, The Goonies, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to produce what amounts to Stranger Things before Stranger Things. The Super 8 teaser trailer, released a year before the film would eventually debut, remains an incredible piece of marketing genius—but the whole movie works, especially Kyle Chandler as small-town America’s most decent dad.
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