Entertainment Weekly has revealed that Jason Reitman (Juno, The Front Runner) is set to direct and co-write a new Ghostbusters movie, which is being produced by his father Ivan Reitman, director of the original two films.
“I’ve always thought of myself as the first Ghostbusters fan, when I was a 6-year-old visiting the set,” said Reitman. “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.”
“I have so much respect for what Paul created with those brilliant actresses, and would love to see more stories from them,” Reitman continued, referring to the Paul Feig-directed reboot starring Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig, and Melissa McCarthy. “However, this new movie will follow the trajectory of the original film.”
“It will be a passing of the torch both inside and out,” added Ivan. “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.”
Reitman has co-written the script with Gil Kenan (Monster House, Poltergeist) and filming is expected to get underway in the next couple of months ahead of a summer 2020 release date. As yet, there’s no word as to whether Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, or Bill Murray will be reprising their characters from the first two movies.
SEE ALSO: Paul Feig discusses his scrapped Ghostbusters 2 plans
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