After Ditching Beloved Icon, 'Ghostbusters' May Abandon Another Legacy Character

Ghostbusters may have taken a much-needed break from New York City in the latest film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), where “something strange” takes place in a backwater town in Oklahoma, but the upcoming sequel will bring the franchise home to the Big Apple.

Though filming has also taken place in London in the UK, the new film, which is currently going under the working title Ghostbusters: Firehouse (2024), will take place where it all started while reuniting audiences with the iconic Ghostbusters firehouse in Tribeca.

Related: A Guide to the ENTIRE ‘Ghostbusters’ Franchise

Several actors have been confirmed to appear: the Afterlife ensemble, Finn Wolfhard (Trevor), McKenna Grace (Phoebe), Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson), Celeste O’Conner (Lucky), Logan Kim (Podcast), and Callie (Carrie Coon), original Ghostbusters actors, Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz), and William Atherton (Walter Peck), and newcomers Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster, and Emily Alyn Lind in undisclosed roles.

However, almost nothing is known about the plot. While the transatlantic shoot suggests the film is taking a page out of IDW Publishing’s comic book series, in the “Ghostbusters: International” storyline, which sees Ghostbusters teams being set up around the world, it seems Ghostbusters: Firehouse will primarily focus on the franchise’s return to NYC.

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Like Afterlife, it will probably lean heavily into fan service, especially with NYC back in the picture, a city that’s as synonymous with the Ghostbusters franchise as it is with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Afterlife certainly felt like a breath of fresh air, but many fans weren’t happy with the jarring relocation.

In hindsight, a New York City setting may have served Afterlife better. With that said, there’s always the risk of fatigue, and it makes sense that the film opted for a significant relocation after the 2016 reboot Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) had already invited audiences back to “the city that never sleeps.”

Related: Upcoming ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie Gets its First Official Trailer

Fans can expect some of their favorite characters to return to the fold in the new film. However, it isn’t entirely understood how the likes of Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), and Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) will fit into the new story.

Recently, Aykroyd told The Chris Moyles Show that the OG characters will be training Phoebe (McKenna Grace), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), Lucky (Celeste O’Connor), and Podcast (Logan Kim) to become “the next generation of Ghostbusters.” But whether or not the legacy characters will have any real screentime this time around remains to be seen.

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Either way, with original cast members and familiar settings back in the fold, Ghostbusters: Firehouse is primed to be a more traditional Ghostbusters film than the last two installments, one of which is a reboot, and the other, Afterlife, feeling more like a spinoff. But another question is exactly how long the franchise will stay in New York City.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife grossed $204.4 million worldwide against its $75 million budget, and the new film will likely be a box office hit too. In other words, future Ghostbusters sequels are inevitable. In fact, the franchise is already expanding, as two animated installments are heading to Netflix; one is a film, and the other a television series.

Related: OG Ghostbusters Could Be Killed off in ‘Afterlife’ Sequel, Leaving Fans Outraged

However, fans expecting the franchise to stay firmly grounded in New York City after a brief excursion to Oklahoma could be disappointed, and perhaps even feel betrayed. Not only does the new film appear to be hinting at the “Ghostbusters: International” storyline, which would allow the series to branch off into many different locations in the future, but recently, Dan Aykroyd suggested that a future film may not even take place in the United States, let alone Manhattan.

Aykroyd, 70, recently enjoyed a trip to Scotland, during which he revealed he has plans for a “Scottish sequel” in the Ghostbusters franchise. “I have an idea for a [Ghostbusters] sequel I would set here in the UK,” he told Weekend Mag (via Edinburgh Live).

“There are lots of ghosts and mythical creatures in Scotland,” the actor continued. “I went to Skye, to the Glencoe Valley, Edinburgh, Glasgow… I loved it.”

Related: ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2’ Reveals First Teaser and Brand-New Logo

Aykroyd is no stranger to the paranormal. By the time Ghostbusters: Firehouse hits theaters, he’ll have appeared in all five theatrical Ghostbusters installments. But his relationship with the paranormal dates back even further than the original film’s release in 1984. Aykroyd considers himself a “Spiritualist” and has shown considerable interest in the paranormal and UFOlogy over the years. It is also widely known that his great-grandfather was interested in the world of the supernatural.

As for Scotland, it would be a perfect setting for a Ghostbusters sequel. The country is rich in history, folklore, mythology, and, of course, ghost stories. Maybe such a film could take place in an enormous castle, not unlike Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series. While this would be an even more jarring switch than New York City to Oklahoma, it may have Ghostbusters written all over it.

Related: Divisive ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot Continues With “Answer the Second Call”

How a “Scottish sequel” might fit into the wider Ghostbusters franchise, though, is unclear, but seeing as Ghostbusters: Firehouse will include scenes in London (assuming the UK capital hasn’t been used to double as NYC, that is), and whose premise may be inspired by the popular comic book storyline that sees Ghostbusters going global, it could be a good segue into seeing “something strange” in the Scottish Highlands in the near future.

Let’s just hope Ghostbusters doesn’t abandon New York altogether down the line. After all, the city is a Ghostbusters legacy character in its own right, and we’ve already had to accept that Sigourney Weaver won’t be returning to the franchise, as she wasn’t even asked to appear in the upcoming film.

Related: A Guide to the ENTIRE ‘Ghostbusters’ Franchise

Though plot specifics are being kept under wraps, a Production Weekly listing (via Ghostbusters News) has revealed the current synopsis for Ghostbusters 4: