Ghostbusters 3 Casts Paul Rudd, Now Called Ghostbusters 2020

Paul Rudd is joining the cast of Ghostbusters 3, which is now going under the title Ghostbusters 2020. Three years after Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters reboot failed to turn a profit at the box office, the paranormal franchise is making a comeback. The new film is being directed by Juno and Tully filmmaker Jason Reitman – aka. the son of Ghostbusters 1 & 2 director Jason Reitman – and will serve as the long-awaited third entry in the original Ghostbusters continuity. Production is set to get underway this summer, ahead of its July 2020 release date.

Story-wise, the movie is said to revolve around a younger generation of heroes who take up the long-abandoned ghost busting business. Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and Mckenna Grace (Annabelle Comes Home) are confirmed to be playing two of the teenaged leads here, with The Leftovers‘ Carrie Coon portraying their mother. Now, it appears the film has filled another important role.

Variety is reporting that Rudd will play a teacher in what’s now being referred to as Ghostbusters 2020. In a statement to the outlet, Reitman said that “I’ve been wanting to work with Paul Rudd since my short film opened for ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ at Sundance. I’m thrilled he’ll be joining this new chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe”. The official Ghostbusters Twitter account has also released a video featuring Rudd, as you can see below.

Ghostbusters 2020, which Reitman is writing with Gil Kenan (Monster House), is also said to include roles for original Ghostbusters stars Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd, in addition to (possibly) Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts. The movie is expected to serve as a passing of the torch sequel, so it would make sense for Reitman to reunite the entire Ghostbusters 1984 gang here. The only exceptions, of course, will be the late Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis, who’s long been retired from acting. Some fans are even speculating that one or more of the new characters in the film will be related to the original Ghostbusters and/or Weaver as Dana Barrett. That could potentially include Rudd and Coon as the movie’s new adults.

Based on Variety‘s report, it sounds like Rudd will play Wolfhard and/or Mckenna’s teacher in Ghostbusters 2020. The actor has revealed a knack for action-comedy roles with his work on the Ant-Man films, so one imagines that he should feel right at home in this franchise (which has usually mixed action, comedy, and more than a dash of supernatural horror). It remains to be seen how the rest of the movie turns out, though, and some people are reasonably burnt out on anything Ghostbusters-related after the toxic online reactions to the reboot. Still, Reitman has put together a promising cast for Ghostbusters 2020 so far.