Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set to arrive in theaters on November 11, 2021, and looks to continue the story of the franchise as it picks up years later after the events of 1989's Ghostbusters 2. While there will be new characters in the film, it will also see the return of much of the original cast.
Set in the small town of Summerville, Ghostbusters: Afterlife tells the story of Carrie Coon's Callie, a single mom who left Chicago with her two children after hearing of her long-estranged father's passing — a father she never even knew. When the three settle in, they find out they are now connected to a team of paranormal investigators named the Ghostbusters and that their father/grandfather may have been one of its key members.
In celebration of the film's second official trailer, which you can see below, we've compiled a comprehensive rundown of who's appearing in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Be sure to keep coming back as we'll be regularly updating this article as we learn more about the cast of characters who ain't afraid of no ghosts.
Bill Murray
Bill Murray is officially returning as Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and we get the briefest of teases of his character in the latest trailer. Murray is one of the original cast members of 1984's Ghostbusters and he is joined by many of his old co-stars in this new film. Murray has known Ghostbusters: Afterlife's director Jason Reitman since he was a child and praised the script of this latest entry.
“The script is good. It’s got lots of emotion in it. It’s got lots of family in it, with through lines that are really interesting,” Murray said. “It’s gonna work.”
Murray also shared how uncomfortable it actually is to be a real-life Ghostbuster, as the equipment is much heavier than you'd think.
"When you put that gear on, it’s so uncomfortable. It’s so heavy, just to stand there with that weight on your back, tilting your spine,” Murray said while reportedly rolling his eyes. “And we wore them for a long time.”
Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd, Dr. Raymond Stantz himself, is also returning for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and much like Bill Murray, really loved the film's new script.
"Jason Reitman wrote a beautiful, heartfelt script that takes the real DNA from the first two movies and transfers that directly to the third, the next generation," Aykroyd said. "It hands the legacy off to a new generation of stars, and players, and actors, and character."
Aykroyd also shared that the film is going to be a bit scary, a bit thought-provoking, and a bit heartfelt. Furthermore, he promises that Ghostbusters: Afterlife will "recognize" the late Harold Ramis — the actor who played Dr. Egon Spengler — in "some way."
Ernie Hudson
Ernie Hudson will be returning as Dr. Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. He was the fourth member of the Ghostbusters team, joining after he saw a job advertisem*nt in the wanted ads. He is one of the most spiritual and religious of the Ghostbusters and is an expert in Egyptian history.
Since Ghostbusters, Hudson has appeared in such films and shows at Oz as Warden Leo Glynn, L.C. Duncan in The Family Business, and Albrecht in The Crow.
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver, who played Dana Barrett in the first two Ghostbusters films, will be reprising her role in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Director Jason Reitman confirmed this was the next chapter in the original franchise and not a reboot, which paves the way for us to revisit some of our favorite characters years later.
While we don't know much about where her character is in this new movie, she did confirm that "it's going to be crazy working with the guys again!"
Weaver, who played Ripley in the Alien franchise prior to Ghostbusters, has had a prolific career since the original films and has starred as Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar, Gwen DeMarco in Galaxy Quest, and much more. She also won Golden Globes for her work in Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl.
Annie Potts
Annie Potts' Janine Melnitz is another original Ghostbusters character who will be making a new appearance in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, giving a touchstone for fans of the '80s film while bringing the franchise to the modern day.
Potts continued her acting career following the original films and can currently be seen as Connie 'Meemaw' Tucker in Young Sheldon. She also lent her voice to the Toy Story films as Bo Peep and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work in Corvette Summer.
Carrie Coon
Carrie Coon will be playing a brand new character named Callie in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and is the single mother of Finn Wolfhard's Trevor and Mckenna Grace's Phoebe. She inherits a farm from a father she didn't know, who we now know is the late Dr. Egon Spengler.
Carrie Coon began her career in theater and was nominated for a Tony Award for her work in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She then had her breakout roles in film in Gone Girl and on TV in the Leftovers as Nora Durst and as Gloria Burgle in Fargo's third season. She also played Proxima Midnight in Avengers: Infinity War.
Paul Rudd
Speaking of Marvel, Ant-Man's Paul Rudd is also part of Ghostbusters: Afterlife's cast as a teacher named Mr. Grooberson. Director Jason Reitman said he's been wanting to work with Paul Rudd since his short film Gulp opened for Wet Hot American Summer at Sundance 2001.
While Rudd has starred in the MCU as Ant-Man, he's also been the star of such other films as Clueless, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and much more.
Mckenna Grace
Mckenna Grace's Phoebe is the daughter of Carrie Coon's Callie and is the granddaughter of Dr. Egon Spengler. Grace has been acting since the age of six, and has already had roles in Captain Marvel as the younger version of the titular character, the younger version of Sabrina Spellman in Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and earned a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Esther Keyes in Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale.
Finn Wolfhard
Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard is set to play Trevor in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and is the son of Carrie Coon's Callie and brother of Mckenna Grace's Phoebe. Wolfhard is no stranger to playing characters in terrifying situations, as he also played Richie Tozier in both It and It Chapter Two.
Logan Kim
Logan Kim is playing the role of Podcast in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and he is considered to be "the truest believer in the film and the heart of the movie." He is also a classmate of Mckenna Grace's Phoebe.
Logan Kim is a relatively new actor, and his only other credits on IMDB are for The Grandson in Home Movie: The Princess Bride.
Celeste O'Connor
Celeste O'Connor is playing Lucky, a classmate of Finn Wolfhard's character Trevor. She appears to be an employee of Spinners Roller Hop, as revealed by an image from the film.
O'Connor played Nyla Chones in Freaky, Paloma in Selah and the Spades, Teen Abbie in Irreplaceable You, and Amy in Wetlands.
Oliver Cooper
Oliver Cooper is playing Elton in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. While we don't know much about his character, there are those who believes he bears a striking resemblance to Harold Ramis and his character Dr. Egon Spengler.
Oliver Cooper starred as Costa in 2012's Project X and made appearances on such TV series as Californication, Red Oaks, Valley of the Boom, and The Coop.
Bokeem Woodbine
Sheriff Domingo in Ghostbusters: Afterlife is played by Bokeem Woodbine. Besides his name revealing that he is a sheriff, we don't know much about his character.
We do know that Woodbine played Mike Milligan in Fargo's fourth season, Uncle Earl in Queen & Slim, Herman Schultz/Shocker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and that he will be playing a character named Soren-066 in the upcoming Halo series.
Marlon Kazadi
Marlon Kizadi is playing a character by the name of Thickneck in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Kizadi has made guest appearances as Malcolm on Riverdale, as Omar in Child's Play, and as Taylor in Chained.
Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts, who is the husband of Carrie Coon, is playing Jack in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The Lady Bird actor and playwright actually secured the role when director Jason Reitman was looking for someone to fill in a smaller role for the film.
"My wife Carrie is in... the new 'Ghostbusters' movie coming out in the summer, and we were there in Calgary while she was shooting it, and a role became available, and so I was able to jump in and play a small part in it myself," he said.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
