Sony Pictures has released the first trailers for Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Together with screenwriter Gil Kenan (City of Ember), Reitman has crafted a new story set in the present-day world of the Ghostbusters that builds on the events of the first two Ghostbusters films directed by his father, Ivan Reitman, and starring Dan AykroydBill MurrayHarold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson. Although Reitman has said before that he respects and likes the 2016 Ghostbusters reimagining directed by Paul Feig, his story will build directly from where the story ended with Ghostbusters II.

At the heart of the new Ghostbusters film is Carrie CoonFinn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace. As we learned earlier this week, Coon plays Callie, the mother of Trevor and Phoebe (played by Wolfhard and Grace, respectively). Phoebe is a science-obsessed young girl while Trevor is more of a gearhead. The family moves to a small town in Oklahoma after they inherit a property once owned by Callie's father. We don't know who Callie's father is but, as we soon find out, he had a connection to the original Ghostbusters. The movie's events also account for the event known as the "Manhattan Crossrip," a.k.a. the big event at the end of 1984's Ghostbusters. Trevor, Phoebe, and their friends soon begin exploring the property and discover all kinds of Ghostbusters gear. Even though they're too young to know what it is, their summer school teacher Mr. Grooberson (played by Paul Rudd) is basically a Ghostbusters superfan and lays down some knowledge.

This trailer hints heavily that Grace is playing the granddaughter of Egon Spengler, who was played by Harold Ramis in the first two movies. Ramis sadly passed away in 2014, which put to rest ideas of creating a full-on Ghostbusters 3 which then paved the way for Paul Feig's underrated 2016 reboot. But unlike that film, Afterlife is very much a "legasequel" in that it's both a sequel and a reboot to Ghostbusters 2.

I like the tactile nature of what we see onscreen here, and Reitman as a filmmaker has a knack for interpersonal relationships (see: Up in the AirYoung Adult) so I'm curious to see that married to the idea of a blockbuster sequel. Thus far, however, this trailer is a great step in the right direction.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife also managed to get a killer cast in place in addition to Coon, Wolfhard, and Grace. Back in June, Ghostbusters star Sigourney Weaver confirmed she, Aykroyd, Hudson, and Annie Potts would appear in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, so we'll be seeing a presence from the OG characters in some form or fashion.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set to premiere July 10, 2020. Check out the trailer below:

Also, here's the newly-released trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife featuring the Ecto-1:

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