Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters movie will reportedly begin production in June. Earlier this year, many people were surprised by the news that Reitman (son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman) would be calling the shots on a new installment set within the continuity established by the 1984 original. Prior to the project’s announcement, there hadn’t been any rumblings that another Ghostbusters film was even in the pipeline. Not much is known about the movie, other than it allegedly revolves around a group of four teenagers that take on the mantle and do battle against paranormal threats.
Sony, eager to revive all of its recognizable properties in the wake of losing the James Bond distribution rights, has the new Ghostbusters pegged for a summer 2020 premiere, obviously looking to make it one of their main tentpoles. With a release date that’s relatively soon (in movie terms), Reitman needs to start rolling his cameras in the near future. Initially, it was thought filming on Ghostbusters 3 would commence in May, but now that’s been (slightly) pushed back.
According to Production Weekly, Ghostbusters 3 is headed to Calgary, where it will film for a 15-week period starting in June. If this holds true, it means principal photography will run until at least early October, barring any unforeseen setbacks.
With June being four months away (as of this writing), there will likely be updates about Ghostbusters 3 in the near future. In particular, Reitman is going to have to iron out his cast soon, and it’ll be interesting to see how that shapes up. If he’s indeed looking for a teenaged crew of ghostbusters, it’ll be something of a risky proposition. There’s always a danger when a movie or TV show revolves around an ensemble of younger, inexperienced actors, but it’s a formula that’s worked well in the past, with recent examples including Stranger Things and IT. Ideally, Reitman’s Ghostbusters will have that kind of luck on the casting front and introduce a new generation of heroes to carry the franchise forward. In all likelihood, Sony is envisioning this to be the beginning of a new series.
Of course, the studio’s previous attempt to relaunch Ghostbusters didn’t land with the intended effect. Paul Feig’s 2016 reboot struggled at the box office, grossing only $229.1 million worldwide against a production budget of $144 million. Those lackluster results killed any chance of there being a sequel to that film, so Sony is trying again with a different approach. It remains to be seen how successful Ghostbusters 3 can be. It’s been a while since Reitman was at the top of his game as a helmsman (his post-Up in the Air filmography is not inspiring), but he’ll hopefully be able to recapture some magic and deliver a fun blockbuster next summer.
More: Ghostbusters 3 Character Breakdowns
Source: Production Weekly
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