Almost 40 years since the original dominated at the box office, Ghostbusters: Afterlife aims to bring the franchise back with a new generation of characters (and several returning faces).
Indeed, looking to avoid any more controversy following 2016’s divisive attempted reboot, Afterlife hopes to stick closer to the spirit of the original, even enlisting the son of director Ivan Reitman to helm the project.
Jason Reitman is no slouch in the directing department himself, having previously earned acclaim for his work on comedy dramas Juno and Up In The Air, although this is his first stab at a conventional blockbuster.
Joining Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard and Captain Marvel‘s Mckenna Grace is the entire main cast of 1984’s Ghostbusters, with the only exception being Harold Ramis, who sadly passed away back in 2014.
That said, his character – the brilliant, but awkward, Egon Spengler – will still leave a big impression on this movie, which follows his daughter and grandchildren as they move to a dilapidated family property in Oklahoma.
Read on for everything you need to know about the cast and characters of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Mckenna Grace plays Phoebe Spengler
!["McKenna]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/mckenna_grace_ghostbusters-43cc3fc.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"mckenna_grace_ghostbusters\"")
Who is Phoebe Spengler? Phoebe is the granddaughter of the late Dr Egon Spengler, one of the founding members of the Ghostbusters. She is largely unaware of her grandfather’s incredible history, but will discover his scientific brilliance when she and her family are forced to relocate to an old home in Summerville, Oklahoma, where he has left a number of intriguing personal effects.
What else has Mckenna Grace been in? Despite her young age, Grace has already racked up some impressive acting credits. You may recognise her from political thriller Designated Survivor, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, harrowing drama The Handmaid’s Tale and popular sitcom Young Sheldon. Meanwhile, on the big screen, she starred opposite Chris Evans in Gifted, and has also made appearances in I, Tonya, Captain Marvel, Annabelle Comes Home and Malignant.
Finn Wolfhard plays Trevor Spengler
!["Finn]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/finn_wolfhard_ghostbusters-3e2fca1.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"finn_wolfhard_ghostbusters\"")
Who is Trevor Spengler? Trevor is Phoebe’s older brother, who moves with her and their mother to Oklahoma. He quickly strikes up a friendship with classmate, Lucky.
What else has Finn Wolfhard been in? Wolfhard broke out in the cast of smash-hit Netflix series Stranger Things, which catapulted him to overnight stardom. He followed it up with a lead role in the two-part film adaptation of Stephen King’s IT, where he played a young Richie Tozier.
Carrie Coon plays Callie Spengler
!["Carrie]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/carrie_coon_ghostbusters-4bfceb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"carrie_coon_ghostbusters\"")
Who is Callie Spengler? Callie is the daughter of Dr Egon Spengler, who has been struggling to make ends meet as of late, leading to her family’s eviction and forced relocation to a decaying farmhouse in Oklahoma.
What else has Carrie Coon been in? Coon broke out back in 2014 with the ace one-two punch of David Fincher’s Gone Girl and HBO’s The Leftovers, going on to bag lead roles in Fargo’s third season and The Sinner. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she played Proxima Midnight, one of the alien adversaries in Thanos’ Black Order, appearing in Avengers: Infinity War and What If…?.
Paul Rudd plays Chad Grooberson
!["Paul]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2020/02/b36fb4f-03124cd.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"ghostbusters-3-afterlife-2020-cinema-release-date-cast-plot-trailer\"")
Who is Chad Grooberson? Grooberson is a teacher at the local elementary school in Summerville, Oklahoma, who teaches Phoebe Spengler and her friend, Podcast. He is blown away by all the Ghostbusters tech they discover, as he remembers the 1984 attack on New York City quite vividly.
What else has Paul Rudd been in? Rudd is one of the biggest names in American comedy, with roles in Clueless, Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Friends, and many more. Back in 2015, he formally joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Scott Lang, portraying the character in four blockbuster films so far, with another on the way soon (see Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania).
Bokeem Woodbine plays Sheriff Domingo
!["Bokeem]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2020/09/bokeem_woodbine_fargo_season_2-a8fba1e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"bokeem_woodbine_fargo_season_2\"")
Who is Sheriff Domingo? Domingo is the local sheriff in Summerville, Oklahoma, who will no doubt be brought into its impending battle against a horde of terrifying ghosts.
What else has Bokeem Woodbine been in? Woodbine is probably best known for the role of Mike Milligan in FX’s Fargo television series, who was a major player in the second season (and recently cameo’d in the fourth). His other projects include a minor villainous role in Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as Netflix’s Spenser Confidential.
Celeste O’Connor plays Lucky Domingo
!["Celeste]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/celeste-oconnor-ghostbusters-9e0c853.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"celeste-o'connor-ghostbusters\"")
Who is Lucky Domingo? Lucky is a classmate at Summerville high school who befriends Trevor soon after he moves to town. She is also the daughter of the town sheriff.
What else has Celeste O’Connor been in? O’Connor recently appeared in the comedy horror flick Freaky, starring Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton.
Logan Kim plays Podcast
!["Logan]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/logan_kim_ghostbusters-4ef03a0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"logan_kim_ghostbusters\"")
Who is Podcast? Podcast is Phoebe’s friend, who helps her get to grips with the ghost-busting technology left behind her by her late grandfather.
What else has Logan Kim been in? Kim is a relative newcomer to the screen, with his only other credit being Home Movie: The Princess Bride, another project from Jason Reitman, which was released on short-lived mobile streamer Quibi.
Bill Murray plays Dr Peter Venkman
!["Bill]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/Bill_Murray_Ghostbusters-50743f2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Bill_Murray_Ghostbusters\"")
Who is Dr Peter Venkman? Venkman is one of the founding members of the Ghostbusters, known for his cynical and sarcastic sense of humour. He was a professor of parapsychology before forming the organisation. One of their earliest cases saw him cross paths with Dana Barrett, who became an on-again off-again love interest.
What else has Bill Murray been in? Murray was one of the most prolific comedic actors of the ’80s and ’90s, with hits including Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. He took on a more dramatic role in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, which earned him acclaim and several award nominations. Most recently, he has become known for his collaborations with Wes Anderson, featuring in Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch. He played a version of himself in the Zombieland movies, both of which poked fun of his two critically panned Garfield films.
Dan Aykroyd plays Dr Ray Stantz
!["Dan]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/Dan_Aykroyd_Ghostbusters-08a34b5.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Dan_Aykroyd_Ghostbusters\"")
Who is Ray Stantz? Ray is another founding member of the Ghostbusters, with particular expertise in the areas of paranormal history and metallurgy. He takes great excitement in his work as a firm believer in the spirit world.
What else has Dan Aykroyd been in? After rising to prominence in the late ’70s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, Aykroyd found successful film roles in The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters and Driving Miss Daisy.
Ernie Hudson plays Winston Zeddemore
!["Ghostbusters"]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/Ernie-Hudson-Winston-71136be.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Ernie")
Who is Winston Zeddemore? Zeddemore is later addition to the Ghostbusters, joining the team as they begin to gain some notoriety. He is not drawn to the work out of any interest in the paranormal, but simply in order to hold down a steady pay cheque.
What else has Ernie Hudson been in? Following on from his Ghostbusters success, Hudson starred in HBO’s unflinching prison drama Oz, while he currently features in the cast of The Family Business and Bad Boys spin-off LA’s Finest.
Sigourney Weaver plays Dana Barrett
!["Sigourney]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/sigourney-weaver-ghostbusters-6747fae.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"sigourney-weaver-ghostbusters\"")
Who is Dana Barrett? Dana Barrett was making a living as a cellist when she first encountered the Ghostbusters, when it became clear that her apartment was haunted by a vengeful spirit. In the iconic first film, she was possessed by a demon named Zuul, but the team – including her not-so-secret admirer Peter Venkman – were able to rescue her from its grasp.
What else has Sigourney Weaver been in? Weaver is probably best known as the original star of the Alien franchise, appearing in the first four movies, including Ridley Scott’s chilling original and James Cameron’s action-packed sequel. She would collaborate with the latter once again for his groundbreaking blockbuster Avatar and is expected to return for the long-gestating sequels. Last year, she appeared in the acclaimed French comedy series Call My Agent.
Annie Potts plays Janine Melnitz
!["Annie]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/annie_potts_ghostbusters_afterlife-a23c26e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"annie_potts_ghostbusters_afterlife\"")
Who is Janine Melnitz? Janine was first introduced as the secretary for the Ghostbusters, who has to deal with an intense influx of calls once the team becomes established.
What else has Annie Potts been in? Outside of the Ghostbusters franchise, Potts is known for voicing Bo Peep in Pixar’s Toy Story franchise, while she currently has a regular role on The Big Bang Theory spin-off Young Sheldon.
Ghostbustrs: Afterlife is released in cinemas on Thursday 18th November. Check out more of our Film and Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.