Mckenna Grace Teases “Super Exciting” Ghostbusters Sequel

Ghostbusters sequel star Mckenna Grace can’t give anything away about the coming third film, but says her involvement is “super exciting.”

“No, don’t even try that with me, mister! I cannot,” Grace told Comic Book Movie with a laugh when promoting the home release of Captain Marvel, where Grace plays a young Carol Danvers.

On joining Ghostbusters, Grace said, “I’m so excited about it because I’m a huge fan of the Ghostbusters so that’s going to be super exciting. I cannot share anything about it with you my friend, I’m really sorry!”

Writer-director Jason Reitman, who inherits the franchise from father Ivan Reitman, delivered fresh details about the new cast at Ghostbusters Fan Fest, where Reitman said he’s “really thrilled” Grace is “at the center of this movie.”

“Mckenna Grace, I had seen her in I, Tonya — Mckenna Grace played little Tonya Harding in I, Tonya — and was just extraordinary. She was little Captain Marvel. And she came and read, [and] was spectacular,” Reitman said, adding Grace “loves Ghostbusters.“

“She has all these photos of her in Ghostbusters gear throughout her childhood, and she met my father and she cried.”

The role won by Grace was the impetus for the latest Ghostbusters, a direct sequel to the 1984 original and 1989’s Ghostbusters II: Reitman envisioned a 12-year-old girl wielding a proton pack, a seed of an idea that blossomed into a full blown script co-penned with Gil Kenan (Monster House, Poltergeist).

“We had a really sweet moment, actually. I’ve always seen that audition tape where [Steven] Spielberg is auditioning Henry Thomas for Elliott [in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial], and he tells him he got the role, and Henry Thomas just starts crying. And I had a similar moment with Mckenna, where I just told her,” Reitman said.

“Which is a rare occurrence, oddly, you rarely get to tell the actor face-to-face, ‘Hey, you’re it.’ And I had that moment with Mckenna, and she just started crying. And she was so thrilled and she immediately started painting Ghostbusters paintings for our office. If you’re looking for a Ghostbusters fan, there isn’t a bigger one than Mckenna Grace. I’m really thrilled that she’s at the center of this movie.”

Leaked audition tapes described the 12-year-old girl character as a “science kid” who has difficulties connecting emotionally. The character, who dutifully studies a joke book to better connect with others around her, says she doesn’t “pick up on traditional social cues,” suggesting she is on the autism spectrum.

Ghostbusters 3 opens July 10, 2020.