Fire up your proton packs, people, because there’s going to be another movie from Sony Pictures, according to . Jason Reitman () will direct the new film, which will be set in the same fictional universe as the 1984 original and its sequel—unlike Paul Feige’s 2016 all-female .
Reitman is a fitting choice, seeing as how he’s the son of Ivan Reitman, director of the 1980s films.
Reitman resisted following in his father’s footsteps for years, but it seems he’s finally succumbing to the call. “I’ve always thought of myself as the first fan, when I was a 6-year-old visiting the set. I wanted to make a movie for all the other fans,” Reitman told . “This is the next chapter in the original franchise. It is not a reboot. What happened in the ‘80s happened in the ‘80s, and this is set in the present day.”
Reitman co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan (), but declined to share any details with EW, preferring to let “the film unwrap like a present.” But there’s bound to be excited speculation about the possibility of original cast members returning. Harold Ramis died in 2014, but Dan Ackroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Bill Murray are still around. Murray had a small role in the 2016 reboot, along with cameos by Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts (who played the shrill receptionist Vanessa in the original.)
Count me among those who genuinely loved Feige’s 2016 vision (especially the extended director’s cut, which was vastly superior to the theatrical release)—Kate Mackinnon as Jillian Holtzmann was a sheer delight and practically stole every scene. I thought the controversy surrounding its all-female cast was ridiculous. Reitman is a fan too. “I have so much respect for what Paul created with those brilliant actresses and would love to see more stories from them,” he said.
Shooting should begin later this year, with a planned release in 2020. But do we really need another movie, especially since Sony is also developing an animated ? Reitman certainly thinks so. “The universe is big enough to hold a lot of different stories,” he said.
