Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman, who co-wrote it with Gil Kenan. It is the direct sequel to Ghostbusters II (1989), the third mainline installment and the fourth overall in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Paul Rudd, with Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson reprising their roles from the earlier films. Set three decades after the events of Ghostbusters II, it follows a single mother and her children who move to an Oklahoma farm they inherited from her estranged father Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters. A third main Ghostbusters film had been in development since the release of Ghostbusters II, but production stalled because Bill Murray had refused to return to the series. Following Harold Ramis' death in 2014, Sony Pictures produced a female-led reboot, which was released in 2016. In January 2019, it was announced that Reitman would direct a sequel to the original films, with the new cast being announced by July, while original cast members Potts, Hudson, Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver signed on two months later. Principal photography took place from July to October of that year. After being delayed four times from an original July 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released in the United States on November 19 by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $204 million against a $75 million budget. A sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, was released in 2024.