Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) is the third entry in the Ghostbusters movie series, following on from Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), while also serving as a “legacy sequel.”
Ghostbusters: Afterlife follows Phoebe as her family relocates to Summerville, Oklahoma, where she quickly learns that there’s something strange going on, and that she’s the descendant of Ghostbuster Egon Spengler.
The film stars McKenna Grace (Phoebe Spengler), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor Spengler), Celeste O’Conner (Lucky), Carrie Coon (Callie Spengler), Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson), and Logan Kim (Podcast).
In a recent interview with franchise group Ghostbusters Ireland, Logan Kim discussed his love for those original films, as well as Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009), which remains a beloved entry in the series.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game acts as a sequel to the first two movies and saw the return of Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Bill Murray (Peter Spengler), and Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore).
With that said, up until the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters: The Video Game was widely considered canon by the fans. Even Dan Aykroyd himself confirmed this during an interview many years ago.
But while the 2021 sequel doesn’t appear to directly contradict the events in that game, it doesn’t go out of its way to acknowledge it in the same way it does with the original 1984 film.
And while it doesn’t acknowledge Ghostbusters II all that much either, the fact is that the 1989 film is absolutely canon is without question. The video game, on the other hand, has a big question mark hanging over it.
This largely has to do with the villains Gozer the Gozerian and Ivo Shandor, who are both portrayed by Olivia Wilde and JK Simmons in the movie. Shandor also appears in the game, but he’s actually a ghost, which means that he’s dead.
In the film, however, he’s shown to be alive, having been in some sort of century-long slumber as he waits for Gozer to enter our world once again. And this is where things get tricky in terms of canonicity.
It would be easy enough for Ghostbusters 4 to acknowledge the game, though - after all, it’s not like Ghostbusters: Afterlife has made it impossible for the game not to be canon (this isn’t the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot we’re talking about).
In the interview with Ghostbusters Ireland, Logan Kim talked at great length about his love for the original Ghostbusters movies, as well as his experience on the set of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
When discussing Ghostbusters: The Video Game, here’s what the actor said:
“I did play it [Ghostbusters: The Video Game], and then they remastered it, and I played it again on my PS4. Oh, I love that game. That game is so good!”
He then suggested that Ghostbusters 4 - which is due out in 2023 - draws inspiration from the game, saying:
“I think if we did the thing with the Proton Packs, because, you know, in the game, it has like different modes, right? Like the proton regular, and then you have like the slime mode and all the other ones. If we did that, it’d be kind of cool.”
While no cast members have been confirmed for Ghostbusters 4, Kim did more or less confirm his involvement, adding:
“I’m waiting for the Ghostbusters script. When that comes in, I’m going to be very excited.”
Ghostbusters 4 is now in the works, and as recently confirmed by Sony Pictures, it will be released on December 20, 2023. While little is known about the plot, it has been confirmed that it will “continue the Spengler family story”.
Whether or not the cast from Ghostbusters: Afterlife, or even the original Ghostbusters will return for Ghostbusters 4 remains to be seen. But it’s safe to assume that the film will follow sometime shortly after the 2021 sequel.
A Ghostbusters animated movie is also in the works, as well as an untitled Ghostbusters animated series. And if that wasn’t enough, there are two Ghostbusters video games and a new comic book series on the horizon too.
