Thirty years is a long time to wait for a movie! That’s how long it’s been since Ghostbusters II hit theaters way back in 1989. Fans have been waiting for the fabled Ghostbusters trilogy to be completed ever since. Sure, there was the animated series, the video game sequel, and the all-female reboot in 2016, but getting some closure on the original foursome of spirit cops in a live-action film always seemed unattainable.
Being a hardcore comicbook and superhero fan, people are often surprised when they find out my favorite movie of all time is Ghostbusters (1984). There’s just something about four schluby guys who use science and technology to fight the supernatural that captured my imagination—and that of so many other viewers my age. I was beyond excited when I heard that Jason Reitman, the son of the original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, would be helming a direct sequel to Ghostbusters II.
Production on the new movie is currently underway and filming is taking place in Calgary, Alberta, which is a long way from the New York City setting of the original two films and the reboot. Set photos from the movie have started to pop-up on social media, giving us a hint of the locales, tone, and even story of the new film.
The first is a picture of a dirty and rusted Ecto-1, the Ghostbusters’ main vehicle. This tracks with the teaser trailer where we glimpsed the old retro-fitted ambulance underneath a tarp in a barn. Clearly, we’re going to be getting a more rural or suburban setting for the new film.
My best guess is that one of the original Ghostbusters, most likely Ray or Winston, have retired to a quiet town and put all their ghostbusting equipment into storage… until someone or someTHING gets them back in the game.
The next image we’ve seen surface is one of crew members painting an old and weathered Stay Puft Marshmallow ad on the brick façade of a small-town liquor store.
It actually looks very similar to an ad featured on the side of a New York City building in the first Ghostbusters during the scene in which the containment unit explodes and all the ghosts escape. This appears to be a nice call back not only to Mr. Stay Puft but the production design of the original movie.
Ghostbusters 2020 is set to debut next summer with a cast that includes Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd. The original cast are also presumed to make appearances, with the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and yes hopefully the ever-elusive Bill Murray.
-Steve V.