Jason Reitman: new Ghostbusters is a sequel, not a reboot

Last Updated on July 21, 2021

Late last night we brought you guys word that there is a new GHOSTBUSTERS movie in the works. And then, earlier today, we brought you the teaser trailer, which you can check out again below. This new entry will be directed by Jason Reitman, who is the son of Ivan Reitman aka the man who helmed both the original movie and it's sequel GHOSTBUSTERS 2.

While it’s still too soon to tell what the actual plot of the film will be, who the new characters will be, or whether the original actors like Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, or Bill Murray will return, we do know some stuff. Mainly that the movie will be produced by Papa Reitman and co-written by MONSTER HOUSE and POLTERGEIST scribe Gil Kenan.

But what does the movie's new director Jason Reitman have to say about the new film? Well, Little Reitman recently spoke to EW about the movie and he made sure to point out, above all, that his upcoming film is "the next chapter in the original franchise" and "is not a reboot." No word on if this will be called GHOSTBUSTERS 3 or something else. I guess we'll see soon-ish. You can read all his thoughts below.

Jason Reitman on his new GHOSTBUSTERS:

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. 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. 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.

On the original film:

I love everything about it. 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. I’ve thought about this franchise and it has occupied a piece of my heart for basically as long as I can remember.

On director Paul Feig's 2016 all-female Ghostbusters movie starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon.

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.

Papa Ivan Reitman says:

It will be a passing of the torch both inside and out. 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.

And finally, Jason Reitman says:

The Ghostbusters universe is big enough to hold a lot of different stories.

In an added bit of fun, it turns out the little Reitman grew up idolizing his dad’s 1984 horror-comedy as much as the rest of us. In fact, the young Jason had a role in the original film (which was cut) but made up for it in GHOSTBUSTERS 2 where he played the bratty birthday kid with braces who tells Ray and Winston, “My dad says you guys are full of crap." Sony has dated the film for Summer 2020, with plans to start shooting in a few months.

We'll let you know when we hear more!

Source: EW

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