Development As Ghostbusters III In the early 1990s, following the release of
Ghostbusters II,
Dan Aykroyd wrote a script for a third
Ghostbusters film tentatively titled
Ghostbusters III: Hellbent. Elements of this story were used in
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009), which Aykroyd considered to be "essentially the third movie". At various stages of its development,
Chris Farley,
Chris Rock and
Ben Stiller were reported as potential stars of a new
Ghostbusters film. By 2004, Columbia had begun pursuing a sequel but Murray, who disliked sequels, was uninterested in the project. The following year,
Harold Ramis confirmed plans to introduce Stiller into the principal cast. By 2009, the project had failed to progress, but by January 2010,
Ivan Reitman, director of the first two
Ghostbusters films, confirmed he would direct a third one. Also in March, Murray discussed development of the film and his mixed feelings about reprising his role. A release was scheduled for Christmas 2012. That October, Aykroyd commented on the screenplay written by
Gene Stupnitsky and
Lee Eisenberg, stating that he was particularly impressed with the writing of Murray's character and the implementation of the new team with the original while he and Ramis worked on a second draft of the script. By August 2011, Aykroyd stated that filming was scheduled to begin later that year with a story focused on passing the Ghostbusters mantle to the younger actors. When Murray decided against reprising his role, Aykroyd said another actor might replace him. Aykroyd also said he wanted retired actor
Rick Moranis to return as
Louis Tully. By February 2012, the film was placed on hold as the production team re-evaluated the project. Without Murray, the studio searched for replacement actors and considered including his character as a
CGI-rendered ghost. In June, Murray again acknowledged all involved were attempting to develop the third film before dropping out of the film the following month. In July, Aykroyd confirmed the film was back in development with a script re-write from
Etan Cohen. Aykroyd said of the script: "It's got to be perfect. That's the whole thing. There's no point in doing it unless it's perfect. So that's what we're up to now." In May 2013, Aykroyd discussed plot points including real experiments being done by college students at
Columbia University as a source of inspiration. The plot would revolve around research being done by the university, which would bring about threats from other dimensions. A new team of Ghostbusters would form to save Earth's plane of existence from supernatural threats. The script reportedly included Murray's character with hopes Murray would decide to join the production. Following the death of Ramis on February 24, 2014,
Sony/Columbia stated that Ramis would appear in a
cameo appearance in the film. The film was delayed again to rework the script. By March 2015, Reitman was no longer attached to direct the third film, but would remain as producer, with plans to begin principal photography by early 2015. Weaver wanted her character's son to feature as a member of the team, and Reitman said he had already been included in the script.
As Ghostbusters: Afterlife A new film connected to the original two films was revealed in January 2019. Ivan Reitman's son
Jason was confirmed to direct from a script he co-wrote with
Gil Kenan while Ivan would serve as a producer. Reitman said he did not mean to snub the 2016 film and that he had "nothing but admiration" for Feig. Feig said Reitman had been a supporter of his film and that he "can't wait to see his take on the
Ghostbusters universe". Murray, who was also confirmed to be reprising Peter Venkman, was positive about the script.
Casting The castings of
Mckenna Grace as the young female protagonist,
Finn Wolfhard as her brother, and
Carrie Coon as their single mother were revealed in March 2019.
Paul Rudd was cast in the film in June, later confirming his role of Mr. Grooberson, the children's new teacher who knows of the Ghostbusters' legacy. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts were confirmed to be reprising their roles from the first two
Ghostbusters films.
Design Reitman shot on location and relied on
practical effect as much as possible to maintain stylistic continuity with the original films. The Spengler farmhouse was a practical set built on a ridge that recalled the
Psycho house. An old barn was relocated and reconstructed piece-by-piece on location for the unveiling of Ecto-1. Two
Ectomobiles were used during filming. While the vehicles were vintage 1959
Cadillac Miller-Meteor Sentinels, modern performance engines and suspension upgrades were required to complete the stunt sequences which were filmed on real city streets.
Creature effects Reitman and the production crew reviewed the designs of the original film's ghosts and other supernatural creatures for use in
Afterlife, observing the designs looked different from each other and were distinct. Ramis's likeness was recreated with digital makeup created by Pier Lefebvre and his team at
Moving Picture Company (MPC) Film in Los Angeles, scanned from his appearance in the original films to create his digital double with alterations on it based on several photographs taken before his death and footage of him being aged.
Drumheller and
Fort Macleod (Muncher chase scene) during July and August. Other locations around Alberta were also used. Filming wrapped on October 18. ==Music==