Sony announced earlier this month that “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” – last year’s legacy reboot and sequel starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, and Finn Wolfhard – is getting a follow-up. That untitled sequel now has a release date: Get ready to bust more ghosts on Dec. 20, 2023.
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” filmmakers Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman are returning for the project, although it’s unclear if Reitman will direct again. (Jason’s father, Ivan Reitman, directed the first two installments in 1984 and 1989, and he produced “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” He recently passed away at the age of 75.) As the “Afterlife” post-credits sequence suggested, this new installment will return the franchise to the firehouse and New York City settings of the original.
A modest success, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” grossed over $200 million at the global box office. (The widely maligned, gender-swapped “Ghostbusters” remake from 2016 did slightly better at the box office, netting $229 million unadjusted for inflation.) “Afterlife” starred Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Celeste O’Connor as a new generation of Ghostbusters alongside Rudd and Coon, with original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson also returning. It’s unclear who will star in next year’s iteration.
The live-action “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” sequel is part of a suite of new “Ghostbusters” project announced earlier this month that also includes an animated Netflix series and an animated “Ghostbusters” feature from Sony Pictures Animation, both of which reportedly take place in the same universe established by the original films that continued with “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” All of this makes one thing very clear: for Sony, ghostbustin’ makes them feel good.
