The Ghostbusters are coming back to theaters this summer with a reboot of the supernatural horror/comedy movie franchise from writer/director Paul Feig (Spy) and screenwriter Katie Dippold (The Heat). Headlining the movie are the former Bridesmaids costars Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy as a pair of paranormal researchers who, along with a fellow scientist and New York municipal historian (Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, in turn) set out to start their own successful ghost-catching business. Along the way, the team hire a receptionist in the form of Kevin (Chris Hemsworth): a well-meaning, but dim-witted fellow, who’s all too eager to don a Ghostbusters uniform and join the fight himself.
However, as is revealed in the newly-released second Ghostbusters trailer seen above (and as some predicted based on footage in the movie’s first trailer), the Ghostbusters soon find themselves facing a far greater challenge than just a skeptical public - namely, a potential apocalypse brought about by malicious supernatural forces who even take control of one of their own.
The film’s latest trailer also offers an additional glimpse at the new big screen version of the iconic Ghostbusters ghoul Slimer, as well as what appears to be the reboot’s version of the infamous Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the original Ghostbusters movie. The latter is a humongous poltergeist known as “Mayhem” and was unveiled earlier this year in action-figure form during the 2016 New York Toy Fair. Official action figures have also been released for protagonists Erin Gilbert (Wiig), Abby Yates (McCarthy), Patty Tolan (Jones) and Jilliam Holtzman (McKinnon), while other cast members in the film include Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire), Andy Garcia (Kill the Messenger), and SNL’s Cecily Strong, as well as several original Ghostbusters costars in cameo appearances.
Unfortunately, so far a big part of the conversation around Sony’s Ghostbusters reboot has concerned the negative online reactions to the film’s initial trailer - a theatrical preview that even McCarthy has admitted confusingly paints the film as being a semi-continuation of the previous installments in this series, rather than the “hard reboot”/semi-remake that it actually is. The fact that the Ghostbusters reboot stars four women instead of men has likewise made this movie the target of numerous sexist criticisms online, but admittedly even a number of Ghostbusters fans who are supportive of the idea of a “gender-swapped” Ghostbusters film have expressed concerns about this reboot, based on the comedy style and jokes featured in the movie’s trailers to date.
The new Ghostbusters trailer isn’t likely to change too many minds in that regard either, since it features the same kind of humor that was on display in previous trailers. However, it also shows off more of the film’s colorful aesthetic, playful ghost designs, and undeniably talented cast in motion - elements which, most fans seem to agree, are working in the reboot’s favor. Beyond that, the Ghostbusters brand (be it live-action or animated form) has always been an inherently goofy one and the reboot seems faithful in that respect; not to mention, Feig’s past films have generally been smarter and funnier than their marketing. Take or leave that as you will, since the actual film is less than two months away now.
Ghostbusters opens in U.S. theaters on July 15th, 2016.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
