Ghostbusters: Afterlife Director Reveals How His Own Life Inspired New Film

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is hitting theaters next month, and it has a lot of special connections to the original film. Not only can you expect to see some of the movie’s original stars popping up in the latest installment, but the new movie was directed by Jason Reitman, the son of original Ghostbusters director, Ivan Reitman. During a recent chat with Insider, the younger Reitman opened up about following in his father’s footsteps and explained how he pulled from his own life for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. 

According to the article, Reitman had a lot of abandonment issues being the son of a busy Hollywood director. He used this for the role of Callie (Carrie Coon), a single mother who feels her father never gave her much attention. Of course, her dad was busting ghosts, not directing movies. “Look, being the son of a director is complicated,” Reitman explained. “Being the son of someone who is obsessed with their work; I think about that with my relationship with my father.”

Reitman also shared that he thought a lot about his own daughter, Josie, while writing the movie. She grew up similarly to him and is also the child of divorce. “Every filmmaker is doing autobiographical work no matter what they are doing,” he shared. “I made this movie for my dad. I made this movie for my daughter. I think it mirrors the ways that we want to be connected to each other.”

In addition to Coon, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set to star Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Bokeem Woodbine, Celeste O’Connor, and Logan Kim. The movie is also expected to see the return of classic cast members such as Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray, all seemingly playing their original characters from the 1980s classics.

“Jason [Reitman] is the perfect inheritor of the legacy as a writer, storyteller, and director,” Aykroyd recently told Cigar Aficionado. “His vision derives seamlessly, respectfully, and honestly from the original films. Can’t wait to see the lines around the multiplex.”

“I think he’s really got something. It was hard. It was really hard. That’s why I think it’s gonna be good. We were just in it for a little while, but it was physically painful,” Murray previously said about the project. “Wearing those packs is extremely uncomfortable. We had batteries the size of batteries. They now have batteries the size of earrings. It’s still a really heavy thing to wear, all the time.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is now scheduled to hit theaters on November 19th.