New Ghostbusters: Afterlife Hasbro Reveals

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Hot on the heels of today’s new trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Hasbro has announced more products for fans of the series both young and old.

The new reveals today include:

• The Plasma Series Afterlife Figures

• The Fright Features line of products

• Clue: Ghostbusters Edition

• The Ghostbusters Mini-Puft Popper

• The RC RTV Ghost Trap

Here’s all of the information fit to print. As well as a gallery of all the images of the new announcements but be warned, some might consider a few of the elements within the photos spoilers as they haven’t been seen on-screen or in the trailer yet.

GHOSTBUSTERS MINI-PUFT POPPER

(Ages 8 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $20.99 / Available: Fall 2021)

Mini-Puft popping action is back with the GHOSTBUSTERS Mini-Puft Popper from Hasbro and NERF! Inspired by the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife film, kids can imagine themselves as part of the Ghostbusters team undergoing eerie encounters with this must-have roleplay gear. The GHOSTBUSTERS Mini-Puft Popper comes with three soft foam Puft Popper projectiles inspired by the mischievous Mini-Puft characters from the 2021 film for ghost-poppin’ action and adventure. Product will be available at Walmart, Target, and Amazon.

GHOSTBUSTERS PLASMA SERIES GHOSTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE FIGURES

(Ages 4 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $24.99/ Available: Fall 2021)

The premium, collectible Ghostbusters figures that fans love is back in time for the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife film with the first wave of the GHOSTBUSTERS Plasma Series Afterlife Figures from Hasbro! Inspired by the latest film coming to theaters in November 2021, this highly poseable collection of action figures features premium design, detailing, and articulation that embody the quality and realism Ghostbusters fans expect with Hasbro’s Plasma Series. Each 6-inch scale action figure comes with film-inspired accessories, including new ‘Build-A-Ghost’ pieces for select figures that form a Sentinel Terror Dog figure.

The GHOSTBUSTERS Plasma Series Afterlife Figures features characters from the 2021 film, including Trevor, Lucky, Podcast, Peter, Winston, and Ray, along with the Sentinel Terror Dog build-a-ghost pieces Available at HasbroPulse.com and most major retailers nationwide.

CLUE: GHOSTBUSTERS EDITION GAME

(Ages 8 and up / Approx. Retail Price: $20.99 / Available: Fall 2021)

A team of paranormal eliminators will be racing to a mysterious farmhouse in the Ecto-1 to roast some ghosts and solve mysteries in the new Clue: Ghostbusters Edition Game. Inspired by the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife film, players will experience a suspenseful game of "whodunit" with artwork and characters inspired by the iconic Ghostbusters franchise. By moving from location to location, narrowing down the possibilities, and through the process of elimination, players will figure out who the leader is, how to trap it, and where it will appear. Paranormal cards add teamwork to the game, letting players team up to battle a ghost or get closer to the truth. Once an accusation is made, players must check the Tobin's Spirit Guide card sleeve to see if they are right, with the correct accusation winning the game. Available at HasbroPulse.com and most major retailers nationwide.

GHOSTBUSTERS RC RTV GHOST TRAP

(Ages 6 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $41.99 / Available: Fall 2021)

The ghost trap has been reinvented! Inspired by the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie, kids can now imagine hunting and grabbing spooky ghosts on the run as part of the Ghostbusters team with the GHOSTBUSTERS RC RTV Ghost Trap toy from Hasbro! The remote control allows the RTV Ghost Trap toy to drive forwards, backward, and perform smooth j-hook turns. When moving in reverse, the trap will open, and a Muncher ghost figure will pop out and try to escape!

GHOSTBUSTERS FRIGHT FEATURE FIGURES

(Ages 4 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $10.99 / Available: Fall 2021)

Fright Features are back and better than ever with the GHOSTBUSTERS Fright Feature Figures from Hasbro! With the ghastliest ghouls now, even more spooky, these 5-inch scale figures are accompanied by an interactive ‘Ghost’ figure with fright features, along with proton pack and proton blaster accessories. Once activated, ghosts stretch, spook, and cause a fright! Kids can imagine the spine-tingling frights faced by Ghostbusters, old and new!

Wave 1 includes the four original Ghostbusters, including Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston. Wave 2 includes four human characters – Lucky, Trevor, Phoebe, and Podcast - from the 2021 Ghostbusters movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife (each sold separately). Available at most major retailers nationwide. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)

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Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Trailer 2 Full Breakdown

This is it, this is definitely it!

A meaty and goosebump-evoking trailer just dropped today for Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Much like the first trailer, the main focus of this is the family - forced to move to Oklahoma after falling on tough times. Janine, Terror Dogs, Mini Pufts, and Ghostbusting in motion as Jason Reitman has referred to it are all here. There’s a whole lot here to unpack, plus a whole lot that I’m sure we still haven’t seen. In fact, I would argue that we now have a pretty complete picture of what’s in store come November and are being shown just enough to tide us over until the fall.

This was a solid trailer. It hit all of the right notes. It invoked goosebumps on several occasions. And oh boy, does it demonstrate that Jason Reitman wasn’t kidding when he told us hardcore nerds that if we loved easter eggs, we were in for a treat.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

A GREAT MOM

The trailer begins with a very quiet and intimate bit of dialogue between Paul Rudd’s Mr. Grooberson and Carrie Coon’s Callie.

The two sit at a table, and while the trailer frames it to appear to be Spinners, a quick glimpse at the wall next to the two in a later shot shows they’re actually in a Chinese restaurant. In fact, I love that Grooberson has what looks to be one of the deluxe Benihana cocktails in a ceramic glass in front of him. Grooberson tells Callie that she’s a great mom, but she’s not so sure. Callie feels like she’s been a great mother to her oldest, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). But feels like her introverted daughter Phoebe (McKenna Grace) keeps her at a distance. There’s a sense that Callie and Phoebe can’t find much common ground, and for this her mother is struggling.

I really love how the trailer gently brings us into the world, helps set the stage, and gives us several glimpses of some of the incredible cinematography in store from Eric Steelberg.

AN AWKWARD, NERDY KID

Grooberson’s dialogue reassures Callie that what Phoebe is going through is normal. He calls her an “awkward, nerdy kid” to imagery of her at school being teased. Ghostbusters: The Video Game fans concerned about if the story and events from the game will somehow be referenced or acknowledged in some way will probably quickly notice the Doritos product placement. Hours of gameplay has trained them well.

Anyway, not only is Phoebe failing to connect with her mother on a deeper level, but it appears that she’s an outsider at school as well. It makes the friendship we know she’s to have with Podcast (Logan Kim) that much sweeter. And you feel for her right out of the gate here, hoping that she’ll find that friend as soon as possible.

UPDATE: In Jason Reitman’s IGN commentary over the trailer, he mentions that Phoebe being an outsider is important as the Ghostbusters films have always been about outsiders, the original Ghostbusters having been removed from campus due to their unorthodox ways of study, etc.

Callie and Grooberson’s conversation comes to a conclusion with Phoebe’s mother just wishing, “she’d get into some trouble.” As her mother laments about her daughter needing to be bold and a little more adventurous, we see a continuation of the scene from the first trailer in which Phoebe solves a puzzle built into the floor of the farmhouse in order to find a hidden ghost trap. Perhaps Ghostbusting is exactly the trouble the young and brainy kid needs?

As we, the audience, see the familiar ghost trap, there’s quite literally a drum roll added to the music scoring of the trailer. Perhaps Ghostbusting is exactly the trouble we need too.

JANINE, YOU HAVEN’T CHANGED

The trailer continues with the Trevor dialogue we heard in the first trailer as he explains to Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) that they’re broke and the only thing they have is a “creepy old farmhouse” left to them by their grandfather. But that is the lead in to our first major surprise of the trailer: a glimpse of Annie Potts’ return as Janine Melnitz!

Janine jokes to Callie that her father wasn’t much of a homemaker. “He could hardly keep the power on,” Janine says with a chuckle. If there was any question of the family lineage, this trailer solidifies that Callie and her family are Spengler through-and-through.

Update: To clarify Janine’s connection to Egon, in Jason Reitman’s commentary on the trailer, he says that “clearly Janine and Egon had a connection in 1984” and continued to do so. He mentions that it’s apparent Janine was taking care of him in his old age.

It should be noted at this point that the quiet music that accompanied the beginning of the trailer suddenly has these eerie choral notes added to it. Adding a little bit of that paranormal/otherworldly feeling but keeping the trailer light and playful. I’m not sure if this is Rob Simonsen’s score, but if I had to guess given the way the music builds and shifts, this is an original music bed for the trailer only.

It’s also interesting to see how we’ll be able to revisit the past in the film by use of footage from the original (as seen in the YouTube videos playing on various computers) but also the use of one of my favorite set photography moments framed and displayed in the farmhouse presented as a personal photograph. I know, given how some people reacted to seeing a headshot of Sean Connery used in an Indiana Jones film, these types of touches can take people out of a film. But I think the trailer gives us a great idea of how these moments will be integrated and I love it.

The trailer takes a hard turn with a great back and forth between Callie and Janine. Callie tells Janine that it sounds like her father has left her nothing. Janine playfully retorts, “Well, I wouldn’t say nothing.” This line is masterfully juxtaposed with Trevor opening the barn doors to find the Ectomobile housed under a tarp. The music comes to a crescendo as Trevor lifts the tarp and reveals the Ghostbusters Mooglie logo.

Let’s call this goosebumps moment number one.

THE ONLY ONE WITH AN ENGINE

It’s this part of the trailer where it does something that’s a rarity these days, and that I appreciate so much: the music takes a breath and completely drops off to give us a small vignette of a scene from the film. Phoebe enters the barn to find Trevor working on the Ecto. She ribs him that, of all the broken down cars on the farm, he’s chosen “the station wagon.” Trevor responds that his vehicle of choice was the only one with an engine.

The music and percussion come back in full force to score Trevor on a joy ride through the wheat fields of the farm. He seems to be having a good time.

So am I… this was definitely goosebumps moment number two.

A STORM COMING

Act Two of the trailer starts with a dark and ominous storm coming into Sumerville. There’s trouble in small town Oklahoma. Grooberson reiterates his line about a town with no faultlines shaking on a daily basis to Trevor and Phoebe. Only this time, he receives a response: “Maybe it’s the apocalypse.” Phoebe delivers the line to Grooberson with such amazing deadpan earnestness that you can tell she and grandpa might have a whole lot in common. Including their sense of humor.

The line gives us a good chuckle to break the tension but also sets the stage for what’s to come in the trailer: exactly what Phoebe has predicted.

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON

As Phoebe tells us that “Egon came here for a reason,” an archival piece of footage and dialogue from the first film plays on her laptop: the commercial playing on Dana Barrett’s television at 55 CPW. As the original Ghostbusters give you their sales pitch, this is where the trailer really kicks into modern trailer overdrive.

Flashes of imagery including the PKE meter, Mini Puft mayhem at Wal-Mart, and more quickly breathe in and out. In fact, if this trailer is our Christmas present in July, this is where we’re unwrapping and unpacking what’s inside the box.

But we also get glimpses of a creepy underground temple with some pretty intense architecture and even creepier statue work. Terror dog/human hybrid statues flanking what looks to be a pharaoh with wings. And gaunt peasants all reaching out to it all. Did Sumerians have pharaohs? Or is this something else? Certainly seems like if there were Gozer worshippers out there, this might be a stone tribute to them. Shout out to the outstanding display of this and everything in the trailer from Production Designer Francois Audouy.

UPDATE: Thanks to the nudge of Mr. Yurcaba for pointing out that pharaoh has a flat top, not a headdress. Hmmm…

The kids discover the terrifying temple and Trevor gives us an “oh my god” to punctuate as they see what we see.

NICE DOGGY, CUTE LITTLE POOCH

Right about this part of the trailer is where my brain explodes and I’m not sure where to start. Imagery is rapid fire as the shit hits the fan.

Phoebe looks into a cauldron in the temple (where there’s numbers behind her that we’ll have to analyze further at some point). And the cork pops on the bottle. As she does so, there’s a terrifying growl in the background foreshadowing some familiar imagery we’re about to see.

But before we get to that, two incredible things are seen as well: familiar purple PKE trails that look a whole lot like those that explode from the firehouse and converge at Spook Central (UPDATE: According to Reitman’s trailer commentary, they found the original 70mm special effects film of the trail animation and utilized them for the new film). And, as Grooberson’s line about New York City looking like “The Walking Dead” is repurposed to sound like he’s talking about Sumerville, there’s an incredible physical creature design sitting at a lunch counter. A half-decomposed cabbie maybe? Wearing a 1970’s collar and neckerchief. To my eye, I’d be willing to bet that’s the work of Arjen Tuiten and his team of creature designers. And it’d make Steve Johnson proud.

Plus it’s such a funny image of this corpse sitting at a lunch counter, and the waiter is pour him coffee like it ain’t no thing. I love it.

UPDATE: Confirmed, the corpse is Arjen Tuiten creation! And duh, it’s not a cabbie - it’s a miner in a mining town.

Back to man’s worst friend: the terror dogs make several appearances in the trailer. First as a cool half-manifested entity above Groobersen and again chasing the poor guy out of a Wal-Mart. Is Groobersen haunted by these things like Louis Tully? Or is something else going on here?

IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE, OF COURSE

If there was a moment that I expected Ray Parker Jr.’s iconic theme song to kick into full gear, this would have been it. The icing on the cake of the trailer, after we see the dead rising from the grave and all hell breaking loose, is Trevor, Phoebe and Podcast all in the Ecto chasing after what we now know is Muncher. The editorial of this is insanely cool. And we get to see the Remote Trap Vehicle (RTV) deployed from the Ecto and how it’s used in the pursuit of Muncher. We’ve seen the gunner seat, but the beats that this moment in the trailer hit, well…

Goosebumps moment number three.

VENKMAN, WE’RE NOT HOME

After all the debate among friends if there would be a “Chewie, We’re Home” moment in this trailer - where we’d see one of the original Ghostbusters live and in the flesh, we got the perfect tease. As Grooberson, Phoebe and Podcast watch the conclusion of the original 1984 ad, the trailer closes with a phone ringing inside a very familiar looking Occult Book shop.

Tattooed arms (I’ve tried with everything I can to see what the tattoo says) pick up the phone and the familiar voice of Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) curtly tells whomever is on the other end of that phone that, “We’re closed.” A perfect little tease if you ask me. Let’s save seeing Peter, Ray and Winston on-screen to the main event.

UPDATE: In the IGN commentary, Reitman says the tattoo is a reference to the Judgement Day conversation Ray and Winston have in the Ecto during the first film. He also confirms the red phone and all the details of Ray’s Occult are 1:1 accurate to the second Ghostbusters film.

Ghostbusters Afterlife Trailer 2 is Here!

Run. Don’t walk. The long awaited second look at Ghostbusters Afterlife is here! Check out the video via the official Ghostbusters YouTube channel below. And make sure to come back to GBHQ later today for a full breakdown. Plus, the Ghostbusters Interdimensional Crossrip will be teaming up with Yes Have Some for a roundtable discussion tonight at 6pm Pacific.

Get Ready for the Afterlife - New Trailer Debuts Tomorrow!

The wait is finally over!

The past couple weeks, you could almost sense the build-up to something big coming and today the veil of mystery has been lifted. Long after the first trailer in December of 2019, a new trailer will debut tomorrow for the long-anticipated direct follow up to the original two Ghostbusters films, Ghostbusters Afterlife.

More will be revealed in the trailer tomorrow. And expect a full rundown here on the HQ as well as on the Interdimensional Crossrip podcast. But in the meantime, why not prepare yourself with a quick refresher of all that’s come before, starting with the surprise announcement teaser that shocked us in January of 2019, then the first trailer we saw a mere 12 months later.

Randy Edelman's Ghostbusters II Score Coming August (on Vinyl in October)

For thirty-plus years, fans have wanted/requested/demanded an official release of Randy Edelman’s original film score for Ghostbusters II — and finally, after all that time it’s coming!

Hitting digital and CD in August, and vinyl in October, not only is this a remastered and official release of the film score for the first time, but it also includes a track unused in the film as well as THREE re-recorded tracks specifically for this release. What could those three tracks be, and why did they necessitate re-recording? Stay tuned, hopefully the liner notes of the release will tell all!

While we wait, Sony Masterworks and Randy Edelman himself have released “The Scoleri Brothers” as a tease on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, and other platforms, giving us our first clean listen to the score without music and effects married to it. Notable in the video is that the score includes familiar lines and melodies from Ray Parker Jr.’s theme that are not heard in the final mix of the film giving a hint that we may have heard reprises of the theme throughout the film at one point or another. It’s incredible!

Pre-orders are available up on Amazon, but it also stands to reason your local music stores will be able to order it if you want to support your small business shop!

Barnes and Noble also has an exclusive GLOW-IN-THE-DARK variant available for pre-order now:

Barnes and Noble Exclusive Glow-in-the-Dark Vinyl (Pictured)

Here’s the official solicits and news:

For the first time ever - 32 years after the film’s 1989 release - the Original Score to Ghostbusters II will be available across digital and physical formats from Sony Classical. The album includes original tracks as well as 3 newly re-recorded tracks and an additional track originally recorded for Ghostbusters II but not featured in the film.

Audio CD and Digital Platform Release: August 13, 2021

Vinyl Release: October 15, 2021
180 Gram, 1x LP

Track Listing:

A Few Friends Save Manhattan

A Baby Carriage Meets Heavy Traffic

Venkman's 6th Ave. Strut

Order in the Court

He's Got Carpathian Eyes

The Sensitive Side of Dana

In Liberty's Shadow

Rooftop Broom Kidnap

The Scoleri Brothers

Oscar is Quietly Surrounded

A Slime Darkened Doorway

One Leaky Sewer Faucet

Vigo's Last Stand

Good With Kids

Enlightenment

Family Portrait-Finale