Anybody who felt like Paul Feig’s 2016 Ghostbusters reboot was a personal attack on their childhood can finally rest easy. There’s a new movie on the way that ignores it completely, instead picking up right where the celebrated 1984 Ivan Reitman flick left off.
And it’s being brought to us by none other than his son, Jason Reitman (whose political thriller The Front Runner hit theatres before Christmas). According to EW, the upcoming movie will take place in the same world saved by the eponymous foursome 30 years ago.
Speaking exclusively to the publication, Reitman gushed about his decision to follow in his father’s footsteps:
I’ve always thought of myself as the first Ghostbusters fan, when I was a 6-year-old visiting the set. I wanted to make a movie for all the other fans
The filmmaker was also quick to point out this definitely will not be a remake:
This is the next chapter in the original franchise. It is not a reboot. What happened in the ‘80s happened in the ‘80s, and this is set in the present day
The as-yet-untitled follow up to the 1984 sci-fi classic is due for a summer 2020 release. The younger Reitman co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan (Monster House, the Poltergeist remake). Shooting is due to begin shortly. There’s no word yet on whether the original actors will return, but Reitman promises lots of fun new characters regardless.
Feig’s lively all-female reboot suffered an infamous backlash from hardcore Ghostbusters fanatics, but was well-received by critics and continues to boast a decent fanbase mostly made up of young women, who finally saw themselves reflected in this universe we’d grown to love as children.
Also, it’s a pretty damn funny movie, with some great FX and a load of wonderful performances, but I digress (this Tweet sums up my feelings on the sudden decision to return to the franchise again with a presumably all-male cast).
Reitman is, naturally, a lifelong Ghostbusters fanatic too, telling EW he loves everything about the movie.
The iconography. The music. The tone. I remember being on set and seeing them try out the card catalog gag for the first time when the library ghost makes them come flying out. I remember the day they killed Stay Puft and I brought home a hardened piece of foam that just sat on a shelf for years. I was scared there was a terror dog underneath my bed before people knew what a terror dog was
Reitman, his mother, and his sister actually originally featured in the movie as panicked residents fleeing the haunted skyscraper but their appearance was ultimately cut. He later appeared in the sequel, memorably telling the foursome, “My dad says you guys are full of crap.”
Reitman has been relentlessly asked in interviews whether he’d ever consider taking on the Ghostbusters mantle. He’d always said no, but now acknowledges it’s in his blood:
I’ve thought about this franchise and it has occupied a piece of my heart for basically as long as I can remember
Ivan Reitman will take a producing role on the upcoming movie, with his son’s script reportedly bringing him to tears.
There’s an animated Ghostbusters movie on the way, too, which is also courtesy of Sony, but that’s due for release after the live-action one and will be courtesy of an entirely different team.
Stay tuned to Wicked Horror for more info on the project as it becomes available.
