In NYCC's Ghostbusters: Afterlife panel, moderated by Clark Collis, director Jason Reitman discussed his hopes for a universe of Ghostbusters stories.
"I can't believe that we survived this one," Reitman joked when asked about a future Ghostbusters franchise. He then continued more seriously, "I want to see Ghostbusters movies from all of my favorite directors. And we hope that this sets the table for that."
The panel featured co-writer Gil Kenan, Celeste O'Connor (Lucky), Logan Kim (Podcast), Mckenna Grace (Phoebe), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor), Carrie Coon (Callie), producer Ivan Reitman and co-writer/director Jason Reitman.
Early in the panel, Jason and Ivan Reitman were asked to talk about the "genesis" of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. "Well, in 1977 my mother and father decided to have a child," Jason Reitman began.
His father answered more seriously: "I was lucky enough to get a great idea from Dan Aykroyd. [He] sent me an 80 page script and we made the film in 1984, rushing all the way. And it's amazing how you responded to it and I just want to thank you all for being here today and hanging in there for almost 40 years." The Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II director continued, "About two and a half years ago, three years ago, Jason came and said, 'ya know, I want to talk to you about a Ghostbusters idea I had.'"
"He told me a story that just knocked me out," Ivan Reitman said. "I said 'if you think you can do it then you gotta go do it.' And that's how it all started."
"The truth is, well, what we all wanted to see was a Ghostbusters movie," Jason Reitman said when asked why he wanted to make the film. "We wanted another Ghostbusters movie. We wanted to get back into Ecto-1 again. We wanted to pick up the Proton Pack again. And that's where it came from."
The younger Reitman also touched on his love for seeing movies in the theater and the importance of a theatrical release. "We wanted to make a movie that could be enjoyed with huge audience with popcorn on a big screen with incredible sound where you were experiencing it the way you experienced the movie in '84 ... I'm thrilled to be at Sony, which is the studio most dedicated to theatrical films." The panel wrapped with a surprise screening of the film for the panel's attendees.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife, after facing delays due to the pandemic, is set to have a theatrical release on Nov. 19.
Source: NYCC 2021 (Ghostbusters Panel)