It may have taken 32 years, but fans finally got the Ghostbusters sequel they wanted when Jason Reitman’s Afterlife came to theaters last month, where the hybrid of sequel and reboot handily topped the box office with a robust $40 million opening weekend.
While takings have started to slow down significantly already after less than a month in release, a $166 million haul and counting against a $75 million budget during a pandemic is more than likely enough to guarantee that a sequel gets the green light, especially when Reitman and producing partner Gil Kenan have inked exclusive development deals with Sony.
Now that we’ve gotten Afterlife out of the way, which introduces a new set of characters in addition to tipping its hat to the lore and leaning hard into nostalgia, maybe now is the time for the new generation to stand alone in the spotlight. Well, Dan Aykroyd doesn’t think so, admitting to USA Today that he’ll keep coming back as Ray Stantz for as long as he’s wanted.
“I’d like to die. I think Bill and I should be killed in the next one. Or, maybe we wait. Why not use the living Ghostbusters – Ernie, Billy and myself – for four, five, and six? Go until we’re gone. Then there will be time for the tributes. Death is going to take us soon enough.”
Aykroyd knows more than most how it feels to see Ghostbusters projects fall by the wayside, having had it happen to him on a number of occasions throughout the decades, so you can understand why the legacy player would be keen to get back in on the action now that it finally appears as though a viable new series has been launched.