According to Deadline, the in-development sequel to last year’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife has found its director. With Jason Reitman stepping aside, Gil Kenan, a writer and executive producer on the first film, will now take the helm.
Reitman will reportedly slot into Kenan’s old role as writer/producer alongside Jason Blumenfeld. The report also adds that the ensemble which included Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon are expected to return for the sequel.
“It’s an absolute honor to pick up the proton pack and step behind the camera for the next chapter of the Spengler family saga,” said Kenan in a statement. “I just wish I could go back to 1984 and tell the kid in the sixth row of the Mann Valley West that one day he was going to get to direct a Ghostbusters film.”
Little is known about the sequel right now, though sources say the plan is to return to New York City and the iconic firehouse made famous in the original Ghostbusters films. It’s reportedly been a high priority for Sony to get a sequel in production after Afterlife became a hit last November with a $44 million opening weekend. It went on to gross over $200 million worldwide.
After the success of the film, Reitman and Kenan signed an overall producing deal with Sony Pictures and quickly began working on the script for the follow-up. Kenan has directed movies before such as Monster House and last year’s A Boy Called Christmas, but this will easily be the biggest project of his career.
Production on the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel is being eyed to begin in early 2023. The film is currently slated for a December 2023 release.
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