New ‘Ghostbusters’ Featurettes Drop Fresh Details About The Movie’s New Characters And Plot

Say, have you heard the news? There’s another Ghostbusters movie coming out pretty darn soon! Yup, it’s true, and a lot of people have some pretty strong opinions on the new movie about shooting ghosts with lightning-bolt guns. Go figure! Unfortunately, folks have been so busy side-taking and shouting that a lot of specifics about the movie itself have gone overlooked. Like, for instance, what do we know about Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon’s characters? And what’s going on with the plot, aside from “ghosts bad, gotta bust ’em”?

Sony has just released four new featurettes that focus on each of the new ‘Busters, giving fans a much better sense of who these women are. First up, we have Kristen Wiig’s character Erin Gilbert. She’s the skeptic, but that changes big time when she has her first ghost encounter. Turns out that bit from all the trailers in which the ghost barfs slime on her isn’t just a dumb sight gag — it’s actually a major turning point. (See how context changes things?)

Melissa McCarthy plays Abby Yates, the team’s true believer. It looks like she’s also going to be responsible for most of the movie’s laughs. Her wanton soup rant got a knowing nod and chuckle from me.

Next up, we have Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan. The video probably won’t do too much to soothe those upset that the black team member is again the only non-academic, but it does provide a reason for Patty joining the team aside from “she knows her way around town.” She’s the first one to encounter the movie’s main threat, and is also a bit of a history buff who knows all about New York’s haunted past.

And finally, we have Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann, the team’s tech specialist. She doesn’t get a lot of additional backstory because she’s too busy being a badass.

Let’s be honest — none of this is going to calm the Twitter fires. But for those of us who are somewhere in the middle on the new Slimer-starring vehicle (yes, we exist), these videos provide a clearer look at a movie that hasn’t been marketed terribly well. Personally, I’m ready to see what this team can do.

Ghostbusters haunts theaters July 15.

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