Ghostbusters: Afterlife: what is the movie sequel released?

Ghostbusters: Afterlife gets December 2023 release date

Following the success of the latest film in the iconic supernatural comedy series, Jason Reitman is helming a follow-up that will be released close to Christmas next year.

Reitman recently teased that the code name for the film is ‘Firehouse’ and that it will return to base in New York.

The filmmaker said: “At the end of ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’, the Ecto-1 is driving into Manhattan, returning to its home.

“And before anyone ever heard the title ‘Afterlife’, we called it ‘Rust City’. Which would not have made sense to anyone until they saw the movie. The code name for the next movie is ‘Firehouse’.”

‘Afterlife’ was released last year and made a whopping $200 million at the global box office.

It’s not known if original stars such as Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd and newcomers Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace will return for the flick.

In November, Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan signed a producing deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The duo impressed studio bosses and landed a deal to make more films in the future.

RELATED: Lewis Capaldi Forget Me download

In a statement, Sanford Panitch – Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group president – said: “Jason is the thing you dream about: a world-class, signature storyteller, visionary filmmaker, and dream producing partner.

“Jason and Gil as co-writing partners have a remarkable understanding of commercial quality cinema, and we are thrilled about the upcoming pipeline from these guys.”

In a joint statement, Reitman and Kenan spoke of their excitement and pride as they push on with Sony.

They added: “We’re excited to have evolved our storytelling partnership into a full-fledged production company and couldn’t be more proud to have a home at Sony Pictures, the studio most committed to the theatrical movie going experience.”

Reitman – whose father Ivan Reitman directed the first two ‘Ghostbusters’ movies – admitted he previously “shied away” from jumping into the franchise.

He said: “My dad had always hinted about me directing a ‘Ghostbusters’ movie, but I shied away from it, the way young people shy away from their own parents’ legacy. I think I had to learn how to stand on my own feet.”

There has sadly been a lot of tragedy surrounding the Ghostbusters franchise. Harold Ramis — who appeared in the first two films as the egghead Egon Spengler and co-wrote both movies — died in 2014. Afterlife was dedicated to Ramis, and with the help Bob Gunton (The Shawshank Redemption) and a lot of VFX wizardry, his character returned as a spectral ally toward the end of the film in a way that had most audience members old enough to have seen the first film in the theater bawling their eyes out. Sadly, less than three months after Afterlife‘s release, Ivan Reitman — director of the first two films and Jason Reitman’s father — passed away.

While there aren’t a lot of details known about the next Ghostbusters entry, per the post-credits scene for Afterlife, it will return to the New York setting of the first two films. We can only hope we’ll see the return of the younger actors from Afterlife like Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace as Egon Spengler’s grandkids, and Logan Kim as the very Ray-Stantz-esque Podcast. Then there’s Carrie Coon as Egon’s grown daughter and Paul Rudd as her love interest. Of course, there’s the question of whether the long-timers will return. From the Afterlife post-credits scene it seemed very likely we’ll see Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts return as their respective characters. But whether we’ll see Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, or Sigourney Weaver only time will tell. Or, hey, maybe they could coax Rick Moranis back to the fold!

The ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ sequel is set to be released on December 20, 2023.