Ghostbusters 3: Everything you need to know

From Digital Spy

It's finally been confirmed that we'll be getting a new Ghostbusters movie set in the original universe that we might as well call Ghostbusters 3.

Jason Reitman, the son of original director Ivan Reitman, will direct the movie that he has co-written with Monster House and Poltergeist remake writer Gil Kenan. Ivan will produce the movie and he described it to EW as a "passing of the torch".

"I've always thought of myself as the first Ghostbusters fan, when I was a six-year-old visiting the set," Reitman enthused. "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."

So we know it's not a reboot like Paul Feig's all-female version in 2016, but what else do we know about our return to the original Ghostbusters world?

Ghostbusters 3 release date: When is it arriving?

While we don't have a specific date, Sony Pictures has confirmed that the movie will be released in summer 2020.

Filming is planned to start in a "few months" so hopefully once that's underway we'll get an exact date. Both of the original movies were released in June (the reboot came out in July), but we don't yet know if the new instalment will follow that pattern.

Ghostbusters 3 cast: Who's coming back?

At the moment, Jason Reitman won't be drawn into revealing whether the original Ghostbusters would reprise their roles in the new movie.

Harold Ramis passed away in 2014 and we don't imagine they'll recast the role of Egon Spengler, but we would be surprised if Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray didn't return as Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore and Peter Venkman respectively.

It feels like the opportunity is there to do a legacy sequel like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and introduce a new Ghostbusters team alongside the original stars. Aykroyd and Hudson both seem up for it in any case:

If the original Ghostbusters do come back, don't rule out returns (or cameos at least) for the likes of Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett, Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz and Rick Moranis as Louis Tully.

It seems Aykroyd has known about the (previously secret) sequel for a while. "I think we have a story that's going to work and it's being written right now by really good filmmakers, he told AXS TV's The Big Interview With Dan Rather in November 2018.

"I can't say their names. They're a good team and they are making an effort to bring back all the emotion and spirit of the first two movies and then take it into the 21st century with a vernacular that's needed today to get it across."

He added that he's confident Murray will return, too: "The story is so good, he'll come, even if he plays a ghost."

And alongside the original Ghostbusters (if they return) will apparently be four teenagers, consisting of two boys and two girls, according to multiple reports. So could the old guard be training up the new recruits?

Ghostbusters 3 trailer: Any footage yet?

Even though it's only just been announced, there is already a teaser trailer for the new Ghostbusters movie.

Of course, there's no actual footage from the movie since it hasn't started shooting, but we do get a glimpse of the original Ecto-1 that is currently rusting away in a barn somewhere. Why? We'll have to wait until the movie to find out.

Ghostbusters 3 plot: What will it be about?

Like with the cast, Reitman is keeping tight-lipped about what the new movie will be about.

"This is very early, and I want the film to unwrap like a present," he teased. "We have a lot of wonderful surprises and new characters for the audience to meet."

However, he did confirm that the all-female team from the reboot won't be in the new movie and it wouldn't pick up any of those plot points.

"I have so much respect for what Paul created with those brilliant actresses, and would love to see more stories from them," Reitman confirmed. "However, this new movie will follow the trajectory of the original film."

And 2016 reboot star Leslie Jones isn't best pleased with what's happened, calling it "so insulting".

"We dint count. It's like something trump would do. (Trump voice)'Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain't ghostbusteeeeers' ugh so annoying. Such a dick move. And I don't give f**k I'm saying something!!," she tweeted.

Unsurprisingly though, his father Ivan has been praising what his son has come up with for the continuation of the original Ghostbusters universe.

"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,'" he enthused. "Literally, I was crying by the end of it, it was so emotional and funny."

Ghostbusters 3 will be released in summer 2020.

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