I’m with Josh Heath of We Got This Covered on this one. The internet mob is spinning its wheels and coming up with a whole lot of nothing but a vague and kind of irritating spin on how Ghostbusters: Afterlife, is somehow like Stranger Things. Why? Because Finn Wolfhard is there? That’s what they’re going on? Excuse me for a moment as I do the wheezing laugh that Bill Murray made so great as Carl the groundskeeper in Caddyshack (I have to laugh). Seriously, the internet trolls are in fine form at this point since it would appear that they just don’t want to like anything even if a good number of those attacking the trailer are those that didn’t care for the 2016 Ghostbusters in the least. There’s a good reason why the trailer didn’t show the original cast, one is that Harold Ramis unfortunately passed away, and the other is that by leaving the original cast members out of the mix at the moment it can help to build up excitement. But if you’re paying attention to the news media then you’ve already seen a few sites that have announced that Ray, Peter, and Winston are going to be coming back.
Thankfully it sounds as though Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts are coming back as well, but unfortunately it’s not likely that we’ll see Rick Moranis since he retired and has been content to stay that way. But the issue that the new movie looks like a Stranger Things ripoff proves a couple of things. One, fans are insanely fickle and will jump on just about anything if enough people mention one issue or another, and two, too many people still have ‘Stranger Things’ in mind for some reason and can’t differentiate between the two. I know, that sounds like a stretch, but when it comes to the internet reaching for any reason is the norm and as a result you kind of have to go with the flow at times since otherwise you might be wondering how in the hell people piece things together. It’d be easier to say that Stranger Things was a mild ripoff of Ghostbusters as if people really want, we could come up with a handful of theories that might explain how Hawkins became one of the most dangerous places in the world and how Egon would have loved to talk about extra-dimensional travel and what it could conjure up all day and night. Heck, Ray might even want to get in on the discussion and start using a great deal of scientific jargon that would confuse the majority of us. But calling Ghostbusters a ripoff of Stranger Things? Eat a Snickers internet, you’re not yourself when you’re hungry for real entertainment.
So yes, the absence of the original cast members in this trailer is kind of hard to take since we’ve all been clamoring to see the originals since the botched 2016 movie that treated most of them so poorly, but it could be a good thing to keep us waiting since giving too much too soon is something that might be seen as wise further on down the road. Plus, there were plenty of hints and clues that might lead us to a few deductions about who the kids are and why it’s important that Ecto 1 is where it’s at and why the gear and other trappings of the Ghostbusters are discovered by a kid that has no idea what they are. And Paul Rudd’s appearance is great as well since it indicates the presence of someone that remembers the Ghostbusters and knows just who to call. But if you listen to the trailer you’ll get the point that it’s been a while since the guys were in action, and that the kids aren’t being used as a ripoff, but instead as a legacy to keep the story going. It would be interesting to find out if Peter, Ray, and Winston had families of their own wouldn’t it? Another generation of Ghostbusters just waiting to be revealed, to take up the fight that isn’t likely to stop since there seems to be some would-be undead despot waiting to take over the living world in some way. It could be another breath of life to the franchise, or it could be just a pleasant hello followed by a long silence considering the response that the trailer has already received. Like it or not though, this is what fans of the iconic movie, the original, have been wanting for a long, long time, and hopefully our faith and our patience will pay off.
But a ripoff? Cameron Bonomolo of Comic Book seems just as confused as the rest of us. Folks, take a chill pill and watch the trailer again. If all it took to call something a ripoff was to feature the same actor in another movie or show, then IT, chapters 1 and 2, would be another Stranger Things as well. Don’t go there, just don’t do it.
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