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Credit: IllFonic via YouTubeA lot has been happening in the world of Ghostbusters lately. During Ghostbusters Day on June 8, a number of exciting new projects were announced, which include a Ghostbusters animated series, a Ghostbusters animated movie, a Ghostbusters comic book series, and a live-action sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
The fifth film in the Ghostbusters film series, however, will be the fourth in the main series. Like Ghostbusters: Afterlife, it will ignore Paul Feig’s reboot Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) — which takes place in a different timeline — acknowledging only Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), and the 2021 legacy sequel.
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To say that little is known about Ghostbusters 4, though, would be untrue. During the event, Ghostbusters: Afterlife director/co-writer Jason Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan revealed many things about the upcoming film. While on stage at the event, they said:
“As you’ve probably heard, we’re writing another movie,” Reitman began, before Kenan added, “And tonight, we’re going to share the codename for the next chapter in the Spengler family story.” Reitman continued, “The last time we saw Ecto-1, it was driving back into Manhattan, and that’s where our story begins. We call it Firehouse.”
As the film will continue “the Spengler family story”, it’s reasonable to expect McKenna Grace, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Conner, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd to return, who play Phoebe, Podcast, Lucky, Trevor, Callie, and Gary Grooberson in the 2021 film, respectively. As for whether or not any of the original Ghostbusters will be back on board remains to be seen.
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And as Reitman also confirmed that Ghostbusters 4 will take place in New York City, it’s unlikely we’ll ever return to Oklahoma again (but this doesn’t mean that Summerville-based characters can’t make a cross-country trip like Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) do in Ghostbusters: Afterlife).
Now, we finally have a release date for the movie, which has been confirmed by Sony Pictures. Ghostbusters 4 will be released in theaters on December 20, 2023, a little over two years after the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This will undoubtedly please Ghostbusters fans, who waited 30 years for a third Ghostbusters movie (the reboot doesn’t count).
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While we have many questions about the upcoming sequel, one that now comes to mind is: Will Ghostbusters 4 be a Christmas movie? While its release date is extremely close to Christmas, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the movie will be themed as such. After all, many movies are released during December, and they aren’t all Christmas movies.
With that said, Ghostbusters II is considered to be a Christmas movie by many fans (though the case made for it isn’t as strong as it is for Die Hard). Nevertheless, it’s entirely possible, and who wouldn’t want to see the Ghostbusters — whomever they may be this time around — battling supernatural forces in a snowy Manhattan?!
Related: ‘Ghostbusters 2’ Is a Better Sequel Than ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ — Here’s Why!
While it is yet to be confirmed that Jason Reitman will be back as director, we’ve no doubt that we’re in for another great Ghostbusters sequel. Let’s just hope that we won’t be seeing the same old Ghostbusters villains such as Gozer the Gozerian and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
And let’s also hope that it doesn’t rely heavily on nostalgia. While a solid sequel, there are more Easter eggs than ghosts in the latest film! Ghostbusters: Afterlife also missed a huge opportunity at world-building by not including characters from the Ghostbusters extended universe.
Related: Did You Miss This Epic Crossover Between the Original ‘Ghostbusters’ and the 2016 Reboot?
In the meantime, there are plenty of other projects to look forward to, such as the Ghostbusters animated movie, Ghostbusters animated series, and the new limited edition comic book courtesy of Dark Horse Publishing.
There are even two new video games on the horizon, with Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (2022) and Ghostbusters VR (TBA). What next? An open-world Ghostbusters game? Now that would be something. But for now, Ghostbusters fans have enough coming their way.
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Ghostbusters 4 will be released in theaters on December 20, 2023.
Which Ghostbusters characters do you think will return for Ghostbusters 4? Let us know in the comments down below!