Ghostbusters 2020: Dan Aykroyd Confirms Return of Original Cast

Ghostbusters co-creator Dan Akyroyd confirms he’ll appear alongside returning co-stars Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts in the Jason Reitman-directed Ghostbusters 3, so far known as Ghostbusters 2020. Aykroyd, who first revealed he would be reprising Ray Stantz in September, produces alongside Reitman’s father, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II director Ivan Reitman, for Sony-based Ghost Corps. A direct sequel to the continuity established in 1984, GB20 will focus on a so far unnamed family portrayed by Mckenna Grace (Captain Marvel, Annabelle Comes Home), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, IT) and Carrie Coon (Fargo, Avengers: Infinity War), with Paul Rudd (Avengers: Endgame, Living With Yourself) playing a seismologist and teacher.

“Jason Reitman wrote a beautiful, heartfelt script that takes the real DNA from the first two movies and transfers that directly to the third, the next generation. It hands the legacy off to a new generation of stars, and players, and actors, and characters,” Aykroyd said on The Greg Hill Show, where Aykroyd confirmed co-stars Murray, Weaver and Potts each completed filming.

Though unmentioned here by Aykroyd, his franchise co-star Ernie Hudson earlier independently confirmed his return in September.

“It was really exciting working around this new idea, a new take on the story which Jason — who’s a really incredible and fine filmmaker — came up with. So I’m pretty excited,” Aykroyd said. “You never know in the film business. Nobody knows about anything. ‘Nobody knows nothing,’ as the great writer William Goldman said. Nobody knows anything, you don’t know what’s going to be a hit or not. But I have really good feelings for this, just because of the quality of the stars we’ve got there.”

Joining Grace and Wolfhard in a lineup of “terrific young actors” are Celeste O’Connor (Wetlands, Irreplaceable You) and newcomer Logan Kim. GB20 also boasts “a great story” and a “great setting,” according to Aykroyd.

“It’s gonna be scary, it’s gonna be thought-provoking, it’s gonna be very heartfelt,” Aykroyd said. “You’ll feel it, if you have loved ones that you miss and that you’ve lost, and you want to get back with. It’ll be very evocative that way.”

A first-look photo at the cast initiated suspicions the central family, whose identities have yet to be revealed, could be related to late founding Ghostbuster Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis). Aykroyd added this new film would “recognize” Ramis “in some way.”

Teasing the new characters’ connection to the original cast at Ghostbusters Fan Fest in June, where Reitman first revealed the stars of the 1984 film read his script, Reitman said, “This is what I’ll say. You don’t know their connection, and they don’t know their connection yet either.”

Sony Pictures releases GB20 July 10, 2020.