'Ghostbusters' Lives: Jason Reitman To Direct New Film Set In The Original Universe

Despite being slimed at the box office by both critics and moviegoers in 2016 with the all-female “Ghostbusters,” Columbia Pictures and producer Ivan Reitman—who directed the first two installments of the original films— will not let ghost busting franchise go. Who you gonna call this time? Well, director Paul Feig, behind the 2016 version, is certainly is not coming back and Reitman senior instead, has enlisted his son, Oscar nominee Jason Reitman, the writer/director behind “Juno,” “Young Adult” and “Up In The Air,” to helm the picture.

Reitman will also co-write the movie with Gil Kenan, known for directing the “Poltergeist,” remake, “Monster House,” “City Of Ember,” and penning one of the early drafts of the “Green Lantern” screenplay that was significantly changed by the time it hit the screen, and he did not earn a credit on the final version.

“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 Entertainment Weekly who broke the news and explained the what the movie would be. “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.”

Thus, it’s a kind of belated, proper “Ghostbusters 3” and or at least, linear sequel to the events that happened in “Ghostbusters” and “Ghostbusters 2” (Feig’s version in 2016, was more of reboot and ends up sort of falling into what now becomes a kind of discarded timeline).

The idea is to shoot the movie in this summer with a tentative release date for 2020. EW says at this point; it’s a little too early to tell if Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, or Bill Murray will return. Harold Ramis died in 2014, but if anyone can probably bring back some of the gang it’s likely the Reitmans, and lord knows Dan Aykroyd is so desperate for “Ghostbusters” to come back, he’ll practically pay a fee himself if his character is written into the script. Expect some kind of appearance. Aykryod will pretty much insist and let’s face it, as more of a proper sequel, they’ll likely need some type of bridge figure.

Reitman confirmed none of the ladies in the 2016 film would be connected to this version with a nice diplomatic answer given ho many believed that iteration had buried the franchise for good. “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,” he said.

Ivan Reitman sees it as a natural handoff. “It will be a passing of the torch both inside and out,” he told EW. “It was a decision he had to come to himself. He worked really hard to be independent and developed a wonderful career on his own. So I was quite surprised when he came to me with Gil and said, ‘I know I’ve been saying for 10 years I’m the last person who should make a Ghostbusters movie, but…I have this idea.’ Literally, I was crying by the end of it; it was so emotional and funny.”

Apparently, the plans for the other “Ghostbusters” films—an animated movie about the original Ghostbusters characters—are still in the works, but Jason doesn’t seem to mind.

“The ‘Ghostbusters’ universe is big enough to hold a lot of different stories,” he remarked. Reitman is coming off two films in 2018, “Tully” with Charlize Theron written by his frequent screenwriting partner Diablo Cody, and “The Front Runner” with Hugh Jackman that failed to spark on the awards circuit this year.

This new “Ghostbusters” from Reitman and Kenan has been highly secretive and has gone undetected for months by going under the guise of the title “Rust City.” The main characters will be four teens, two boys, and two girls according to the Hollywood Reporter. Sony tells THR they are describing the new movie as “the next chapter in the original story,” maintaining that it continues the narrative of the 1980s movie and has been characterized as a passing of the torch, “both inside and out.”