Well, this was unexpected. Jason Reitman, son of original ‘Ghostbusters’ director Ivan Reitman, is going to direct another instalment of the ‘Ghostbusters’ franchise. This one more of a direct sequel to the original two movies, and unrelated to the Paul Feig 2016 reboot.
According to EW, who first broke the story, the new film will be set in the world that was saved by the original ‘Ghostbusters’ team of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson).
“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,” Reitman told EW. “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 movie is slated for release in Summer 2020, but so far, there are no plot details or casting. Hopefully they can get some of the original cast to return an hand over to a new crew. Bill Murray has always seemed a bit reticent to return to the franchise, and Harold Ramis died in 2014, but it’s possible Reitman Jr could get Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson to make an appearance.
“This is very early, and I want the film to unwrap like a present. We have a lot of wonderful surprises and new characters for the audience to meet,” adds Reitman.
Whilst Jason Reitman might be the son of a famous director, he’s made a solid name behind the camera himself. He directed ‘Up in the Air’ starring George Clooney, the utterly brilliant ‘Juno’ starring Ellen Page and Michael Cera, both of which landed him Oscar nominations. On tv, he directed and exec producing the tv series ‘Casual’. His latest film, ‘The Front Runner’, starring Hugh Jackman, is also tipped for possible awards this year.
A 3rd installment of the original ‘Ghostbusters’ franchise has long been talked about, but has never quite managed to make it to screen. It really looks like it’s going to happen this time, and with a legacy behind the camera, that can only be a good thing. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
