You may know Finn Wolfhard from his role as Mike Wheeler on Netflix’s smash hit Stranger Things, but he’s also coming to the big screen in a big way, as Trevor in the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which to be fair looks like it’s taking some serious cues from Stranger Things, so hopefully he’ll be comfortable.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is coming out this summer, although if I had to guess I’d say most people are more interested in Stranger Things season 4. Wolfhard talked about both to The Hollywood Reporter. “Yeah! We start really soon — in a month or two,” he said about Stranger Things. “We just got some of the scripts, which I haven’t read yet.”
"Up until a few days ago, we really had no idea what was going on this season. When journalists ask me, ‘What can you tell me about Stranger Things?’ I generally don’t have an answer for people up until a week before we start shooting. The Duffers are so elusive with it. It’s calculated. They calculate the time of when to give us the scripts because they also write the show as we shoot. So it’s all kind of up in the air. But, yeah, we’re gearing up to go, and I’m really excited for it. It’s a really crazy season."
So the Duffers don’t let the kids get ahold of the scripts until shortly before shooting, but if they’re writing things as they shoot, do they have any other choice?
I’m sure we’ll get more details when season 4 debuts, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.
Turning to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Wolfhard said the title wasn’t cemented until late into filming. “No, Jason Reitman was figuring it out the entire time. We called it by the code name, Rust City, while him and Sony were coming up with ideas during the shoot. I believe Jason came up with Afterlife in the last month of shooting.”
And did he ever get used to the fact that he was driving the famous Ghostbusters’ car, the Ecto-1? “I really didn’t. Part of the reason was because I wasn’t allowed to drive it. (Laughs.)”
"But, I was in the driver’s seat, “driving,” and there’s a sequence in the trailer where I’m ripping through this wheat field. There were a few sequences where I got to press the brake pedal, but it was mind-blowing just to be in it. They put a Corvette engine inside it so it could be more powerful. I’d ask our first AD and executive producer, Jason Blumenfeld, if I could just start it, and he’d say, “Yeah, sure.” So, I’d start it up, and it would go, “Vroom!” It would just shoot on, and I’d turn it right back off afterwards. (Laughs.)"
Wolfhard would also like you to know that Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a comedy, even if the trailer above looks pretty somber. “The trailer only showed some of it, but it’s a Ghostbusters movie so it’s a really funny film. Every scene has comedy in it. I’m excited for people to see more of the humor in the movie.”
Finally, Wolfhard talked about his instant chemistry with Afterlife co-star Paul Rudd:
"I was a giant fan of Paul and still am. Wet Hot American Summer was huge for me. I had to ask — and pester — him about it. He was so nice about it and would talk to me all the time about comedy. We’d tell each other different stories. We definitely buddied-up on set."
Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits theaters on July 10. It should make a fine warm-up for Stranger Things.
In other news, we want to wish Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo a speedy recover following surgery he underwent to address issues relating to his cleidocranial dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that affects bone and teeth growth. Matarazzo himself alerted his followers about the surgery the other day on Instagram:
Get well soon, Gaten!
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