'Ghostbusters: Afterlife's' Northeast Ohio connection

Copley, Ohio, native Carrie Coon stars in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Nostalgia drips from the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer, which debuted early Monday morning. The preview introduces us to a young family - a single mom and siblings - who move into a ramshackle farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma, only to discover that someone stacks books a lot like they did in the New York Public Library back in 1984. Oh, and that they’re the grandkids of OG Ghostbuster Egon Spengler.

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The trailer gives off a teen angst Stranger Things vibe, especially since it stars Stranger Things lead Finn Wolfhard and because of Jason Reitman’s experience in teen angst (Juno) and drama (The Front Runner). That’s all likely a ruse for theater goers who will experience the trailer without knowing what they’re seeing at first and will then be surprised to learn of its comedy pedigree. Expect more comedy in the first official trailer (and maybe a glimpse or two at the original Ghostbusters).

Actress Carrie Coon

It also features actress Carrie Coon as either Egon Spengler’s daughter or the mother of Spengler’s son’s kids. Or, as I speculate, Janine Melnitz’s daughter. And when there are ghosts in town, who ya gonna call? Grandma, of course.

Coon is Northeast Ohio native, born and raised in Copley, an Akron suburb. She is best known for her roles on HBO’s The Leftovers, Gone Girl and as Proxima Midnight in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.

This isn’t the first Ghostbusters connection to Northeast Ohio - though the last was more in word than deed. Ivan Reitman, Jason’s father and original Ghostbusters director, intimated in 2013 that after a wonderful time in Cleveland shooting Draft Day, he might bring a proposed Ghostbusters follow-up to the CLE for production.

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