New Ghostbusters in the works – but there’s a catch

A new Ghostbusters has been green-lit, but the new iteration isn’t a direct sequel to the recent live-action movies.

Ghostbusters has appeared in stops and starts since the franchise launched with the phenomenally successful 1984 movie that starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Sigourney Weaver.

There was 1989 sequel Ghostbusters 2, the 2016 reboot, and a 2021 sequel Ghostbusters Afterlife, which was followed Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire earlier this year.

Now the franchise is returning, but in animated form, with Netflix green-lighting a new cartoon series.

This won’t be the first animated incarnation of the franchise however. The Real Ghostbusters launched in 1986 and ran for 140 episodes. While Extreme Ghostbusters followed in 1997 and managed 40 instalments.

According to Variety, the new show has hired Elliott Kalan as writer and executive producer. So expect laughs, as Kalan was head writer on The Daily Show with John Stewart, as well as the Netflix reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

The show will be made using 3D animation, and as per Variety, “tonally in line” with the recent movies.

That tracks as the writing and directing team responsible for those movies – Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan – will also serve as executive producers on the cartoon.

Their last entry, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, was a modest hit, grossing just over $200 million from an estimated budget of $100 million.

But we here at Dexerto were fans, writing in our Ghostbusters review: “There are shades of brilliance in Frozen Empire, and overall, it’s a good film that proves bustin’ still feels good. It’s got everything a Ghostbusters fan could want, including creepy ghosts, snarky characters, and some hilarious gags.”

There’s no word on a release date for the new animated series. But for now you can check out new TV shows streaming this month, as well as the best new movies heading into cinemas.