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Credit: Sony PicturesThere’s something strange, and it don’t look good! Yep, we’re getting a sequel to the Ghostbusters reboot…
Even though it has its fair share of fans, there’s no denying that Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) is as widely hated as the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Paul Feig’s reboot of the 1984 classic by Ivan Reitman hardly got off to a good start when Ghostbusters fans vehemently rejected the first trailer, making it one of the most disliked videos in YouTube history at the time. But when it was finally released, the response was so negative that rivers of pink “mood slime” manifested beneath movie theaters worldwide.
Despite what many fans will have you believe, though, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, which stars Kristen Wiig (Erin Gilbert), Melissa McCarthy (Abby Yates), Leslie Jones (Patty Tolan), Kate McKinnon (Jillian Holtzmann), and Chris Hemsworth (Kevin Beck), did turn a profit at the global box office: $229.1 million against its $144 million budget. Okay, so it’s hardly the widest margin, but its biggest failure was the reception from fans. It also caught the attention of online trolls, who probably belong in an Ecto Containment Unit.
Related: All 9 ‘Ghostbusters’ Installments Ranked, Including ‘Frozen Empire’
So reviled was the film that Sony Pictures swiftly restored the timeline established in the 1984 film with the legacy sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) from director Jason Reitman, the son of the late Ivan Reitman. Now, its sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), is taking the box office by storm and has pushed the franchise past the $1 billion mark worldwide. Which makes it all the more confusing to learn that Sony has just dropped a major bombshell by announcing a sequel to the 2016 reboot.
That’s right — one of the most despised movies in recent memory is getting a sequel, and the entire crew (Wiig, McCarthy, Jones, McKinnon, and even Hemsworth) is expected to be back on board for more Ghostbusting. This time, however, the reboot timeline will “cross the streams” with the main timeline from the other four movies — Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire — in a “supernatural Multiverse adventure.”
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call 2 (TBA) will form part of a planned Ghostbusters cinematic shared universe. It has also been revealed that actor Rick Moranis will be reprising his role as fan-favorite character Louis Tully in the upcoming film. In addition to Tully, it will feature characters from the wider Ghostbusters franchise, including Kylie Griffin from the cult classic animated series Extreme Ghostbusters (1997).
Related: ‘Ghostbusters 5’ Official Teaser Explained, Director Comments
While the reboot hardly made waves at the box office, it’s worth noting that many popular franchises have already crossed over with entries that weren’t so well-received by audiences. Just look at Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which reintroduced Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Peter Parker, despite the likes of Spider-Man 3 (2007) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) being hated by fans. But since No Way Home was released, many have been calling for sequels to both the Maguire and Garfield timelines.
Of course, it’s also worth noting that it’s April 1 today, so Happy April Fools!
To curb any disappointment you might have, there is an actual sequel to Answer the Call in the form of a comic book of the same name as part of the IDW Publishing Ghostbusters series.
Check out the trailer for Frozen Empire below, per Sony Pictures:
Frozen Empire stars Carrie Coon (Callie Spengler), Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson), McKenna Grace (Phoebe Spengler), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor Spengler), Celeste O’Connor (Lucky Domingo), Logan Kim (Podcast), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz), William Atherton (Walter Peck), Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), James Acaster (Lars Pinfield), Patton Oswalt (Dr. Hubert Wartzki), Kumail Nanjiani (Nadeem Razmaadi), and Emily Alyn Lind (Melody).
The film is now showing in theaters worldwide.
In all seriousness, would you like to see a sequel to Ghostbusters 2016? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!