Jason Reitman’s ‘Ghostbusters’ Sequel Casts ‘Captain Marvel’ Youngster Mckenna Grace
Jason Reitman’s upcomingGhostbusterssequel is slowly filling out the cast as the start of production gets closer.Stranger ThingskidFinn Wolfhardhas already been castas a teenage boy involved in the story, andCarrie Coonis playing his single mother. Now a younger girl character has been cast withGiftedstarMckenna Gracetaking the role, fresh off her brief turn as a young Carol Danvers in flashbacks fromCaptain Marvel.The Hollywood Reporterhas news on theGhostbusters2020 sequel cast adding Mckenna Grace. Unfortunately, there’s no character name for this role, but thanks to the early character breakdowns for the movie, we’re pretty sure what kind of character we’ll be dealing with.Early detailson characters in the newGhostbustersdescribed a 12-year old female character as “a science kid that has trouble connecting with others on an emotional level.” And it sounds like she’s on the autism spectrum a little bit since she has trouble “understanding feelings” and isn’t aware of “how hurtful her comments can be.“Furthermore, she “speaks with a flat delivery that make her observations humorous.” Sounds like your typical precocious kid role with a bit of an Egon Spengler twist, which might imply some kind of connection to the original member of the Ghostbusters played by the late Harold Ramis.
This doesn’t sound like a character that’s too far removed from the role she played alongside Chris Evans in the child prodigy dramaGifted. But that’s likely why she was picked for this kind of character. Along with Finn Wolfhard, that makes the casting of the kids for this series a little on the nose, but these two are obviously very gifted in front of the camera, so hopefully it won’t seem like they’re playing exactly the same characters we’ve already seen.
Interestingly enough, the trade describes Mckenna Grace’s part as “a starring role” or the “ostensible lead” which makes us believe that she’ll be a main character but not necessarily the primary star. Many have assumed that Finn Wolfhard would be the lead, but we’re betting that maybe the two share roughly the same amount of screentime in the end, even if the story focuses more on the young female character. That might be a nice olive branch for thoseGhostbusters: Answer the Callfans who are upset that the female-led franchise starter is being left out in the wind (for now).
Production on theGhostbusterssequel is slated to begin this summer, and the film will arrive onJuly 10, 2020.
