It's Ghostbusters Day, And Bill Murray Wants To Know What The Hell That Means
Happy Ghostbusters Day, everyone! I sure hope you remembered to tell all the ghosts in your life you love them. While Ghostbusters Day isn't a new thing – it was actually launched back in 2016 – this year's ghost-centric event is extra special because there's a new Ghostbusters movie on the way. That would be Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a legacy sequel directed by Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman. And while Afterlife will primarily focus on new characters, the original surviving Ghostbusters team members are all going to make an appearance, too.
That includes Bill Murray, who also appears in a Ghostbusters Day video with Ivan Reitman, and asks: what the hell is Ghostbusters Day?
Ghostbusters Day Video
As this video begins, Bill Murray, who appears to be chilling in his kitchen, asks, "Ghostbusters Day? Is that like a national thing? What the hell does that mean?" Good question, Bill Murray. It seems like every other year we learn that certain popular movies have their own designated days. There's an Alien Day, a Top Gun Day, a Back to the Future Day, and so on.
Ghostbusters Day was first launched in 2016 to coincide with Paul Feig's female-driven Ghostbusters movie – a film that was called Ghostbusters when it hit theaters, but now seems to officially be called Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. As you no doubt remember, that film was met with some harsh backlash by manbaby fans who were outraged that girls were busting ghosts. For the record, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call is pretty good. Is it as good as the original movie? No, but it has its charms.
In any case, the new movie, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, feels like it's trying to course-correct by leaning heavily into the nostalgia of the original movie. And since Afterlife is due out this year, the 2021 Ghostbusters Day is extra special. There will be a special event today with the cast and crew of Ghostbusters Afterlife talking about the flick, but for now, we have this cute little intro featuring Murray and Ivan Reitman.
"I think every day is a ghostbusting day, but the fact that there's a designated one now means maybe we'll get a lot more busting done," Murray says. "I think if we can all apply ourselves and focus, be a little more diligent, [we can] get rid of some of these ghosts."
In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, "when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind." Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd, star, while Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts reprise their roles from the original films.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife opens on November 11, 2021. Stay tuned for more Ghostbusters Day coverage.