Summary
TheGhostbustersfranchise is growing, as a new project has been confirmed to be coming to streaming soon on the heels of the successful revitalization efforts most recently shown through the release ofGhostbusters: Frozen Empire.
Ghostbustersfirst made a massive impact with the original film of the same name in 1984, introducing fans to the ideas that would spawn a much bigger franchise than anyone thought. Being uniquely set as the first comedic project to employ significant amounts of special effects work,Ghostbusterswould exceed all studio expectations and become a runaway success and would become the highest-grossing comedy ever at the box office up to that point by netting almost 10 times its budget. From there, that success spawneda plethora of sequels, reboot movies, and shows in theGhostbustersfranchisewith varying degrees of success.
It was announced in 2022, following the success ofGhostbusters: Afterlife,that there was a new potentialGhostbustersanimated series from Jason Reitman in the works at Netflix, seemingly to capitalize on the resurgence of the franchise following the failure of the 2016 reboot. While nothing more has been said in the interim, a new report fromVarietyconfirms that the show has been greenlit on Netflix, with Reitman and hisGhostbusters:Afterlifeco-writer (andGhostbusters: Frozen Empiredirector) Gil Kenan set to executive produce the project. This marks the third animated series in the franchise’s history and the first in almost 30 years. The first,The Real Ghostbusters, saw great success over a seven-season run and was followed up by the less-impressiveExtreme Ghostbusters,which featured a largely new cast of characters and ran for 40 episodes.
In addition to Reitman, whose self-appointedcrusade to giveGhostbustersback to the fans sparked some backlash, and other franchise regulars, the report also reveals that the project will now also have noted comedian Elliott Kalan attached to it as a writer and an executive producer. Kalan’s writing credits include work on several comic book series, most notably working on the limited seriesSpider-Man and the X-Men,where he penned the iconic exchange between Spider-Man and the dinosaur-themed villain Sauron that has since become a prominent meme. Additionally, onMystery Science Theater 3000,as well as being the head writer onThe Daily Show with Jon Stewartfor a period of time remembered for seven consecutive Emmy nominations for the writing, four of which were also won.
The goodwill with fans earned fromGhostbusters: Afterlifehas been a massive boon, makingGhostbusters: Frozen Empireone of the most anticipated sci-fi projects of 2024and providing the impetus for the creation of the animated series. While there’s no telling yet what the show will explore, the previous animated shows kept up one continuity, starting off with the first movie leading intoThe Real Ghostbustersand thenExtreme Ghostbusterspicking up from where the last series stopped, albeit a few years ahead. The upcoming animated show could potentially pick up from there again or could follow the same path and instead serve as a sequel to one of the more recent films.
Ghostbusterscurrently isn’t working as a cohesive franchisedespite seeing success for individual projects, and that has a lot to do with the tone and approach to the subject matter that the more recent projects have taken, existing in stark contrast to the irreverent and nonchalant comedic approach that the original film brought to the table. With this problem in mind, an animated series seems like it could be just what the doctor ordered to set things back on track, as the medium puts less of an emphasis on audience compulsion and is naturally more lighthearted in tone.
TheGhostbustersfranchise is available digitally on VOD platforms, withGhostbusters: Frozen Empireset to make its way to streaming on Netflix.
