Is the World Ready for a Ghostbusters 3?

Who you gonna call? The latest instalment in the franchise will be released this summer. The first Ghostbusters was released to rave reviews in 1984, with a less-than-successful sequel hot on its heels in 1989. The lackluster return of Venkman, Stantz, and Zeddemore put the franchise on hold for several decades. Then, the success of 2016’s spiritual sequel, starring Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, likely fired up the proton packs and helped bring Ghostbusters: Afterlife to eagerly awaiting audiences. So, what do we know about the third installment in the original series? Is the world of Twitter, TikTok, and AirBnB ready for a return to ghostbusting?

The audience for the film will have matured by now and will likely helm families of their own. The film hopes to contain all the charm and excitement that gained it these legions of fans, while also showcasing what 2020 visuals, sound, and on-screen tricks can look like. The plot centers on a family who move to an Oklahoman farm and discover a ghostbusting legacy left to them by their grandfather. The legacy is related to the Manhattan Crossrip of 1984 from the original film, which could bring in the original elements.

Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, and Stranger Things’s Finn Wolfhard are reported to be starring in the film. The new cast members signed onto the production two months before returning stars Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson, and Dan Aykroyd. So, the film was hopeful to include the original stars, but would likely have been able to stand on its own without them. This helps us break into what the actual plot could be and suggests that the story aims to stand on its own merit, while bringing in tropes from the originals.

The franchise has remained popular since 2016 when it earned itself a new audience. The remake of sorts may have had mixed reviews – mainly from diehard fans of the original series – but the scope of Paul Feig’s film allowed us to see just what a Ghostbusters movie might look like in the modern-day and with the focus moving to an all-female troupe of ghostbusters. Afterlife writer/director Jason Reitman likely learned that the heart of the story needs to run through the film, while the ghostbusting antics form the basis of any surface level viewing.

2009 saw Terminal Reality bring us Ghostbuster: The Video Game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was successful – despite being released 20 years since the last Ghostbusters movie – and received an 8/10 score on gaming site IGN. Ghostbusters is perfect for gaming given how rich the mythology of the show can be. There is even a Ghostbusters-themed game among the range of online slots, which takes the motifs of the franchise and layers them onto classic slot gameplay. As fans continue to embrace Ghostbusters in other mediums, producers are content that there is an audience out there who will appreciate Afterlife.

The film, expected to be released in summer, will be a refreshing tonic. In a world of remakes and cash cows, waiting 30 years to tell the next chapter of a story makes it feel as though we will be delivered an exciting new film wrapped up in the nostalgic expectations of a beloved classic.