While many people have already seen Ghostbusters: Afterlife thanks to surprise screenings at August’s CinemaCon and New York Comic Con this past weekend, the general public is still a month away from being able to watch the third entry in the main Ghostbusters film series. However, if you were worried that Afterlife would mark the final tale in this continuity, toss those fears aside. According to Ernie Hudson, Ghostbusters 4 may already be in the creative pipeline.
While speaking with Ernie Hudson, who plays Winston Zeddemore in the main Ghostbusters movies, about the third season of his series The Family Business, ReelBlend cohost and Fox 32’s Jake Hamilton asked the actor if he would do Ghostbusters 4 if they “threw” it at him. Hudson responded thusly:
If they threw it, I would be honored to do it. I’ve heard rumors they’re writing a new one, so we’ll see.
Though Ghostbusters: Afterlife easily could have been a standalone tale that brought the original Ghostbusters saga to a close, from what Ernie Hudson has heard, Ghostbusters 4 is being worked on as we speak. Ok, technically this would be Ghostbusters 5 since there was 2016’s Ghostbusters, but that was a reboot set in a different continuity where Hudson and other original cast members cameoed as brand-new characters. But with the Ghostbusters franchise having now returned to the original timeline, it sounds like we’ll be sticking around here a little longer.
Obviously we’ll have to wait until next month to see how Ghostbusters: Afterlife lays the groundwork for a potential sequel, but Ernie Hudson made it clear game for another round as Winston Zeddemore, who joined the original Ghostbusters team soon after they established themselves. And he’s far from the only familiar face who shows up in Afterlife, as we are also reuniting with Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd’s Ray Stentz, Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barrett and Annie Potts’ Janine Melnitz. But Afterlife is also setting up a new generation of Ghostbusters, with Mckenna Grace’s Phoebe and Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor among the younger leads. So it goes without saying they’d likely be put back in the spotlight for Ghostbusters 4.
As revealed in Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s previews, Phoebe and Trevor are the grandchildren of the late Harold Ramis’ Egon Spengler, and with their mother, Carrie Coon’s Callie, they move into a decayed farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma left to them by their grandfather. It doesn’t take long for the kids to learn about Egon’s ghost hunting past, and not a moment too soon, as the kids and their family and friends must soon deal with new supernatural phenomena popping up in their neck of the woods. Afterlife’s cast also includes Paul Rudd, Bokeem Woodbine, Logan Kim and Celeste O’Connor.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife opens to the masses on November 19, but you can read CinemaBlend’s review of the movie now. Naturally we’ll keep you apprised on any Ghostbusters 4 developments, but for now, browse through our 2021 release schedule and 2022 release schedule to learn what’s coming to a theater near you soon.
