Even GHOSTBUSTERS Star Melissa McCarthy Thought The Trailer Was Confusing
When the first trailer for Paul Feig's Ghostbusters movie came out, it received a big reaction online. Some liked it, many didn't (it's been pointed out that trolls have made this the most "disliked" movie trailer in YouTube history), but one thing that bothered a lot of people was the wording of the text in the trailer: "30 Years Ago, Four Scientists Saved New York. This Summer, A New Team Will Answer The Call." That makes it seem like a sequel that's directly linked to the events of the original movies, but in actuality, this movie pretends those films don't exist.
Fans weren't the only ones who were left scratching their heads. Ghostbusters star Melissa McCarthy thought the trailer was confusing and voiced her concerns to Sony, but nothing happened. On the Johnjay & Rich Show, McCarthy talked about what happened:
"It’s a reboot. It's weird that they said '30 years ago,' because in the movie, the first one didn't happen. It's a great story but told totally differently. It’s the same thing of four unlikely heroes, it’s in New York City, ghosts are taking over. It’s the same classic story but it’s not a '30 years later.' The trailer said '30 years later,' which I didn't quite get myself, but it's not dependent on the first one...Believe me, the question was asked. I think that it’s very confusing. But then everyone said 'we don’t care what you think' [laughs]."
When the star is confused by the trailer for her own movie, somebody in the marketing department screwed up. It's been a couple of months since that trailer came out, so a new one should be coming soon, and we'll see if Sony can course correct in time to convince general audiences that this isn't a direct sequel.
Ghostbusters comes out on July 15th.