Credit: Sony PicturesThe Ghostbusters franchise has seen a few reinventions since it first arrived in theaters more than four decades ago. The original 1984 film, directed by Ivan Reitman, introduced audiences to the paranormal investigators Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore, played by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson, respectively, with a supporting cast including Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis.
The hit supernatural comedy quickly became a global pop-culture phenomenon, spawning a long-running animated series, the sequel Ghostbusters II (1989), an entire multimedia franchise, and cementing the brand as one of the most recognizable franchises of the 1980s.
The Failures and Controversies of the 2016 Reboot
But among those reinventions, none stand out quite as much as the 2016 reboot. Decades after the original film, Sony hit reset with the female-led reboot Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), directed by Paul Feig and starring Melissa McCarthy (Abby Yates), Kristen Wiig (Erin Gilbert), Kate McKinnon (Jillian Holtzmann), and Leslie Jones (Patty Tolan).
The film sparked widespread discourse online before its release and ultimately struggled both critically and commercially, becoming a widely discussed box-office disappointment.
While many fans, along with members of the film’s cast and crew, accused those who didn’t support the film of sexism and misogyny, citing the leads as the reason it was “review-bombed,” the franchise continued to introduce new female Ghostbusters in future films.
Sony Hit Reboot With Ghostbusters
In response to the 2016 film’s poor performance, Sony returned to the franchise’s original continuity with Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
Directed by Jason Reitman (son of the late Ivan Reitman), the film introduced a new generation of characters connected to the legacy Ghostbusters.
The story centered on siblings Phoebe and Trevor, played by Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard, alongside Logan Kim’s Podcast and Celeste O’Connor as Lucky. The nostalgia-heavy sequel was generally well received by audiences and performed solidly at the box office, grossing $204.3 million against its $75 million budget and revitalizing the franchise for a new generation.
That relaunch series continued with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), which brought the action back to New York City and reunited the new cast with several original stars. However, the film proved more divisive among fans and critics, and it failed to match the commercial success of Afterlife., grossing $202 million against its $100 million budget.
Still, at least one of the franchise’s newer stars hopes the story isn’t over.
Related: The 2016 ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot May Be 100% Canon After All
Are There Any New Films Planned?
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter following the release of Scream 7 (2026) — where she appears alongside her Afterlife and Frozen Empire co-star O’Connor — Grace addressed the possibility of returning to the role of the young female Ghostbuster Phoebe Spengler, although she doesn’t believe that a new live-action film is currently in development.
“I think there’s always hope. Personally, I haven’t heard anything lately. I’d be more secretive if I had,” she said. “I would always be honored to play Phoebe again, and whether it would be next year, I feel like I would have heard about it by now if I was. So my fingers are always crossed. As of right now, I have no clue, but I definitely think that it could be a possibility someday in the future.”
Grace has remained busy outside the supernatural franchise.
In addition to her role in Scream 7 — which also features a chart-topping collaboration with Ice Nine Kills on the film’s soundtrack — the actor recently appeared in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025) and will star in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026). She was also recently cast as Daphne in Netflix’s upcoming live-action Scooby-Doo adaptation.
For now, Sony has not announced another live-action Ghostbusters film. However, the franchise continues to expand in other directions, with an animated series and an animated movie currently in development for Netflix. Whether or not Grace will have a voice-acting role as her character in one of the upcoming projects remains to be seen.