Ivan Reitman Says The Ghostbusters Franchise Isn't Bust Yet - Promises More Sequels!

Just when you think it is dead and buried, those pesky spooks go and resurrect themselves AGAIN. One of the most unusual pieces of news we have heard in a while is that the maligned Ghostbusters: Answer The Call will not be the last time we fire up the proton packs and hop in ECTO 1. Pick up the phone and press redial, we are going to be calling those Ghostbusters again, and again, and again.

This isn't your typical internet rumor mill either, it literally comes straight from the horse's mouth. When talking about Space Jam (of all things) to YouTuber Mr. Wavvy, the daddy of Ghostbusters, Ivan Reitman, dropped the news:

"There’s going to be many other Ghostbusters movies, they’re just in development right now."

It comes as a shock when this year's reboot was classed a commercial failure, just shy of $71 million under breaking even. I don't know about you, but that isn't small change for anyone. Reitman doesn't go on to specify exactly what films to expect, which is probably good for those who don't want to see a sequel to Paul Feig's outing. We do know that there was once talk of a shared Ghostbusters universe where various teams of male and female busters could cross streams, so are we to assume this is what he means?

Being realistic though, a third Ghostbusters film has been in development for the entire time I have walked this planet, so I'm not holding my breath on Ghostbusters IV coming anytime soon.

The boys are back in town.

The reboot had "some" redeeming features, but when you hear Ghostbusters you immediately think of Venkman and Stantz not Yates and Gilbert. One of the most frustrating parts (and a missed trick) of the reboot were the cameos from the original cast. It was surely a coup to have Murray, Aykroyd, and Weaver back on set, but they weren't even playing their original parts. A real Ghostbusters homage would have had the girls visiting Venkman, Stantz and Zeddemore in some retirement home for spirit chasers — you could even shoehorn some American Horror Story: Roanoke cameos.

You may also remember that rumored all-male reboot starring Channing Tatum and directed by the Russo brothers. The plug was officially pulled earlier this year, but now could be the time to move it forward. God knows Chris Hemsworth was one of the better bits of the reboot, so why not saddle him up in a beige jumpsuit to join Tatum?

Ghostbusters III

Let's be honest though, what we really want is a real sequel to 1989's Ghostbusters II. Around the early '90s Dan Aykroyd even wrote a script for the canned "Ghostbusters III: Hellbent." The premise took the original characters into an underworld version of Manhattan called Manhellton (solid '90s pun) where they met the actual devil. The film never came to fruition, but it sounds like a pretty plausible idea, even now — imagine a Beetlejuice version of Ghostbusters where we see various demons and ne'er do wells.

The other option that was long rumored but never seen was training up of new Ghostbusters. In fact, we were all sold the premise of the 2016 reboot being the original busters handing over their baton and slimer to their female counterparts. The death of fourth member Harold Ramis in 2014 didn't help the film moving forward, but Answer The Call can't really be counted as a "true" sequel to the original films.

We have all seen how well a Ghostbusters sequel can do — just look at all the merchandise, TV shows, and games that have lasted the past 32 years. The internet is sure to be less than pleased with the news we will get more Ghostbusters, but it could be chance for Reitman and co. to distance themselves from Feig's version and hit a reset button once more. However, to exorcise the demons from Answer The Call, Sony has some real work to do. Expect to be covered in another hot sticky mess that is more gelatinous than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.