In a new interview with The Wrap, Jennifer Kluska, who will be co-directing the upcoming Ghostbusters movie alongside Chris Prynoski, talked about the new film, saying that “It feels sort of very right and fitting to come back to Ghostbusters in an animated form.”
She went on to say that “It feels like so many Ghostbusters fans come from that space as well”, and that doing an animated feature gives the filmmakers a “bigger, weirder stage to play upon”.
The fact that Kluska is aware of the importance of the animated shows The Real Ghostbusters (1986) and Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) within the fandom is music to our ears, and makes us wonder whether her film will form part of the animated side of the universe more than the live-action side of things.
“And I think we want to obviously do something very new and different,” she continued, “as we always do but we know that there are so many Ghostbusters fans who just are waiting to see this franchise animated again.”
When the Ghostbusters animated movie was first announced on June 8 (Ghostbusters Day), Jason Reitman said that the project was actually an idea from his father, Ivan Reitman, who sadly passed away earlier this year.
He added that, “The world of the unknown can only be properly explored through the limitless reach of animation.”
Whether or not the film will be computer-animated remains to be seen, but we’ve no doubt that the team will be looking to the likes of The Real Ghostbusters for inspiration. Or perhaps we’re in for something entirely new.
The animated film is one of many Ghostbusters projects in development. The biggest is the upcoming live-action sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which is set for theatrical release in December, 2023.
As per the Sony Pictures website, here’s the synopsis for Ghostbusters: Afterlife:
From director Jason Reitman and producer Ivan Reitman, comes the next chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe. In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. The film is written by Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars McKenna Grace (Phoebe), Logan Kim (Podcast), Celeste O’Connor (Lucky), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor), Carrie Coon (Callie), Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz), Sigourney Weaver (Dana Barrett), Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson), Olivia Wilde (Gozer the Gozerian), JK Simmons (Ivo Shandor), Bill Murray (Dr. Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Dr. Ray Stantz), and Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore).
Ghostbusters 4 will be released in theaters on December 20, 2023. There is currently no release date for the two Netflix projects.
