Ghostbusters: Afterlife star Carrie Coon has revealed why she was originally afraid to join the cast of the upcoming sequel. As the official third entry in the famed Ghostbusters franchise, fans have been waiting just over thirty years for more.
It has indeed been a long and bumpy road toward finally gaining insight into what the Ghostbusters will do next in their battle against eradicating evil supernatural entities. There was, of course, a brief period where it looked as though the franchise was going to take things in a total different direction with 2016’s Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. This, however, appeared to be a misstep for Sony – not necessarily due to the fact that it featured a female-led cast, but simply because the film failed to build on what had come before. Many people feel that the troubled Paul Feig reboot stands decently enough on its own, but in terms of being the next chapter that Ghostbusters fans wanted, it didn’t hit the mark. It is perhaps for this reason why Jason Reitman – son of Ghostbusters I & II director Ivan, stepped up to take on an official third instalment.
Since being delayed to a March 2021 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there hasn’t been a lot of information regarding the upcoming Ghostbusters sequel. But during a recent interview with Collider, Afterlife star Carrie Coon explained how she was originally afraid of being cast in the film. Citing E.T. star Dee Wallace as a strong actress who ultimately became typecast as a mom, Coon revealed that her initial fears had to do with exactly this sort of pigeonholing. Thankfully, Coon soon discovered that Reitman had bigger plans for her:
"Yeah, that was certainly one of the things I was afraid of when I first was approached about it. I think of Dee Wallace in ET who is a wonderful actress who then sort of became – well, she actually went on, had a really interesting life, but, you know, she became sort of the franchise mom. And I thought about that, but Jason is smarter than that. Jason is the next generation, and he wrote a lot of fun for all of us, and it was one of the reasons I said yes to it. You know, she actually has a personality, a sense of humor and she does get in on the action, and that was really fun for me! I mean, I’m a Ghostbuster basically, which is insane! I grew up with that movie!”
Coon’s relief over being given more of an onscreen purpose than being a mother to Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) appears to add to the expansion of what it means to be a Ghostbuster. While the original films kept that privilege to a small core group of members, Reitman’s new era seems to acknowledge that the past is important, but moving forward while keeping that past intact is also vital. Ghostbusters franchise co-creator and star Dan Aykroyd has previously stated that the DNA of the first two films is being passed on into Afterlife and creating a new era for those who wish to be Ghostbusters. It’s clearly this sort of evolution that allows Coon’s character to answer the call.
Whether or not Ghostbusters: Afterlife manages to be on par with the two past entries in the immediate franchise or not is anyone’s guess. But it does seem that the film’s willingness to accept more Ghostbusters into the battle against the supernatural could very well end up being one of the strongest aspects of the entire franchise to date.
Source: Collider
