End of the world delays Ghostbusters: Afterlife to June 2021

Perhaps sensing that the minds of the moviegoing public—as much as concepts like “moviegoing” and “public” exist during the COVID-19 pandemic—were otherwise occupied with images far more horrifying than a giant Slor, Sony announced this afternoon that the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife has been pushed to June 11, 2021. For those keeping score at home, that’ll put the Jason Reitman-directed sequel into theaters 37 years after the original Ghostbusters, four months after its first revised release date, and approximately two-and-a-half years after self-proclaimed “first Ghostbusters fan” Reitman stuck his foot in his mouth upon announcing that his new addition to the comedy franchise was “for all the other fans.” But then again, what’s waiting 16 additional weeks in the midst of 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes, and all of the other stuff that Dan Aykroyd might attribute to the difficulties of getting a third film set in the continuity of the first two Ghostbusters movies in front of people?

Barring the end of the world (we made it past February 14, 2016, people!), Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts will join newcomers Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace in theaters in mid-June of next year. Bill Murray will be there too, though you have to wonder if he’s thinking that if he dragged his feet just a little longer, maybe they would’ve let him film his scenes over Zoom. Variety reports that Sony is also banking on a summer 2021 release for the yet-untitled Don’t Breathe sequel, but we have a strong, psychic belief that that date, like Afterlife’s, could still change.