Original Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson reveals that he has reached out to director Jason Reitman about the new Ghostbusters sequel currently being prepared for a 2020 release. News that another new Ghostbusters is in development came out of the blue just last month, with an early teaser already being offered up.
Released in 1984, the original Ghostbusters deftly blended action and comedy, and went on to become a blockbuster and a cultural milestone. The movie’s 1989 sequel was seen as disappointing by many, but still made a healthy $112 million at the box office ($255 million if adjusted for inflation). Plans for a third Ghostbusters movie were bandied about for years afterward, but for various reasons nothing ever came to fruition. Instead of another Ghostbusters with the original actors, Sony eventually went ahead with a reboot starring an all-female cast, a move that resulted in major controversy and tepid box office returns.
Related: Why Ghostbusters 3 Took 31 Years To Make
Now, director Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, is taking on the task of bringing to the screen a Ghostbusters sequel that takes place in the original movie’s timeline. It’s not yet known if any of the original cast members will be involved, but at least one of the 1984 Ghostbusters says he’s been in contact with Reitman about the film. In an interview with /Film, Ernie Hudson aka Winston Zeddemore said he has touched base with the sequel’s director, but didn’t offer many details. He said:
“I reached out to Jason. I’ve talked to Jason. I’ve also had a conversation with Ivan [Reitman] just to congratulate him. They confirmed that the movie is definitely being made, because you know there’s always been rumors with Ghostbusters the last 30 years. What that’ll look like, they did not share.”
As for the possibility of Hudson scoring a role in the film, the actor had nothing to report on that front either:
“Nobody’s offered me a job, but the reason I wanted to reach out to Jason, I remember him as a little kid on the set of Ghostbusters. The fact that he’s stepping into that, I think the fans have been wanting for it so no matter what happens, I know it’s going to be a great movie. I really respect him as a filmmaker. Obviously, I’d love to be a part of it but that hasn’t so far presented itself. I know that the movie will be good.”
Hudson of course did appear in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, playing the uncle of Leslie Jones’ character Patty Tolan. Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray also made cameos in the film playing characters completely unrelated to the ones they made famous in the first Ghostbusters in 1984. Plot details on the new Ghostbusters sequel are being kept largely under wraps, but it’s been reported that the story would revolve around four teenage characters, two male and two female. It has not yet been revealed if there are any plans to incorporate Winston Zeddemore and the other original Ghostbusters into the story, but it seems logical that at least a couple of those characters would be brought back to act as a bridge to the older movies.
The gender makeup of the new Ghostbusters squad is of course also a huge matter after the controversy that erupted over the all-female reboot. At least one reboot actor, Jones, has gone so far as to publicly state her disapproval that a new Ghostbusters is moving forward and the all-female team from her movie is being sidelined, a sentiment echoed by her director Paul Feig. If Reitman wants to make the fans happy, he might want to consider at least bringing back Hudson and Aykroyd as their original characters. Snagging Murray to play Pete Venkman for a third time might be a tougher job. No doubt, many strong feelings will be vented about Ghostbusters as the film progresses through production in the coming months.
