Sony Exec Confirms Plans for More Ghostbusters Sequels
Sony Pictures is committed to making more Ghostbusters movies following the success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Director Jason Reitman picked up the Ghostbusters baton from his late father Ivan Reitman, helming 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife and reviving the franchise in the process. Sony chairman Tom Rothman sees the value in successful franchises, whether they be superhero fare such as Spider-Man or Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Ghostbusters has a dedicated fanbase who wants to see more stories set in that universe, and Rothman confirmed they will as more sequels to Ghostbusters: Afterlife are on the way.
Rothman was asked by Deadline if Sony Pictures is planning to do more Ghostbusters movies. "Yes, we will," he replied. "We have plenty of franchise universes with which to operate in, but since I have Deadline here, I want to say, and please include this, OK? Everyone will say, yeah you did $3 billion but it's all sequels and superheroes. It was not all that. There was Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and Little Women. This summer, we've got Bullet Train, from David Leitch, with Brad Pitt, a pure original, R-rated rock 'em, sock 'em action movie for grownups. And Where the Crawdads Sing, a big bestseller with an up-and-coming actress, Daisy Edgar Jones, for women. I absolutely believe that women will come back to the box office."
Sony announced Venom 3 and Ghostbusters 4 during its CinemaCon presentation in April. ComicBook.com's Cam Bonomolo was in attendance for Sony's panel on Monday night in Las Vegas. After revealing some footage of films like Bullet Train, The Woman King, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Sony shared a sizzle reel of other things to come over the next few years. That reel included title cards for Venom 3 and a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which will end up being the fourth film in that franchise.
The studio also used CinemaCon to show its commitment to the theatrical releases, with president of worldwide marketing, Josh Greenstein, specifically mentioning the success of Ghostbusters and the recent Marvel films, as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home's 88-day theatrical window. Unlike a few of the other big studios, Sony doesn't have its own direct streaming service. Disney, Warner Bros., NBCUniversal, and Paramount have all used their streaming services for day-and-date releases, shorter theatrical windows, and exclusive streaming debuts of their films. Sony has sent a couple of films, like The Mitchells vs. the Machines, to Netflix for an exclusive debut, but it appears that won't be a commonly used option in the future.
What would you like to see in more Ghostbusters sequels? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!