Regrouping after Paul Feig's 2016 reboot, Sony Pictures is returning to New York for yet another new crack at Ghostbusters. Strap on your proton packs but remember not to cross the streams as Empire outlines everything you need to know about the film nobody is calling Ghostbusters 4.
There's another new Ghostbusters?
Yes. Yes there is. The second new Ghostbusters of recent years was announced as being underway in January of 2019, after being initially kept tightly under wraps. A teaser was even shot in secret, which you can watch above.
Who is directing Ghostbusters 2020?
Jason Reitman is the director of Ghostbusters 2020: a man with no small connection to the original Ghostbusters films, as his dad Ivan Reitman directed both of them. And as the son of the director, Jason Reitman was along for the ride back in the day. "I’ve always thought of myself as the first Ghostbusters fan," he says, "since I was a six-year-old visiting the set."
What happened to the Ghostbusters from 2016?
When Paul Feig's 2016 Ghostbusters was announced, it was as part of an excitable Sony talking up a sprawling spirit-capturing universe that would encompass various films. Self proclaimed "true fans" threw toxic online tantrums about it destroying their childhoods by having a female cast (Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones), but it turned out to be perfectly decent and received generally favourable reviews.
Sadly, however, it was perceived to have underperformed. Things went a little bit quiet in the aftermath. Talk of the an extended franchise of different ghostbusting teams – and of possible shared-universe projects with fellow Sony properties Men In Black and 21 Jump Street – went away. Dan Aykroyd blamed the 2016 film's out-of-control budget. "The job that Kate, Kristen, Leslie and Melissa did, and indeed Paul did on that movie was superior, or superb," he said. "We would have done another one but... the cost overruns prevented the studio from looking at it and doing another."
The plan for the new film is that it's set within the continuity of the original two movies. "This is the next chapter in the original franchise," says Jason Reitman. "It is not a reboot. What happened in the ‘80s happened in the ‘80s, and this is set in the present day."
That means the 2016 'busters are off in some other world where Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman never existed. Reitman brought a certain amount of opprobrium down on his own head when he appeared to suggest his film was specifically designed to please the "fans" who'd been assholes about the last one. But he quickly backtracked and clarified: "I have so much respect for what Paul created with those brilliant actresses, and would love to see more stories from them. However, this new movie will follow the trajectory of the original film."
What's Ghostbusters 2020's story?
The plot of the new Ghostbusters is currently under wraps, but we do know it will have "connective tissue" to the original Ghostbusters. Apparently one of the film's characters has a link to the franchise's past. It's unconfirmed, but we'd put some fairly confident money on one of the new cast playing a grown-up Oscar, the son of Peter Venkman and Dana Barrett, who appeared as a baby in Ghostbusters II.
Who stars in Ghostbusters 2020?
Paul Rudd is the new Ghostbusters' major name so far. He announced his arrival in June 2019 via a selfie video shot at New York's famous Ghostbusters fire station location on Tribeca's North York Street (see above).
Also in the cast are Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace. Nobody's roles have been revealed thus far.
Will the original Ghostbusters appear in Ghostbusters 2020?
Certainly some of them, yes. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Annie Potts will all reportedly show up in some capacity, and Sigourney Weaver has revealed that she's in the new film reprising her original role of the Zuul-bothered Dana Barrett. “It’s going to be crazy working with the guys again!” she says.
Are more Ghostbusters films in development?
Definitely, pending how well this new is deemed to have performed. We already know that Aykroyd has written "Ghostbusters High, where they meet in New Jersey in 1969".
"We’re looking to do that as probably a glorified feature or pilot within the next maybe five years," Aykroyd says. "And it would lead to a television project and I thought of Jason Reitman immediately for that. It’s on his desk, but that’s years away from the current project. But it’s a neat idea for a prequel. Imagine casting Peter, Ray and Egon as teenagers!"
When is Ghostbusters 2020 released?
Ghostbusters 2020 will be manifesting in cinemas from 10 July 2020.
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