Sony has officially handed the sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife a — very surprising — release date. The studio went all out on making sure the 2021 movie was a stronger relaunch of the franchise than 2016’s reboot, and, while it didn’t blow up the bank and received somewhat mixed reviews from critics and fans, clearly Jason Reitman’s ode to his father Ivan’s 1984 original did the job as a sequel is on its way… next holiday season.
The next Ghostbusters movie — which we can call Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2, Ghostbusters 4, or, if you’re feeling particularly chaotic, Ghostbusters 5 — has been assigned the official release date of Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. This marks a huge first for the series, which has never premiered during Christmas before. The ’84 flick, 1990’s Ghostbusters II, and Answer the Call all came out as summer blockbusters.
Afterlife, meanwhile, opened in November, but that was only due to various COVID-related delays — it was originally supposed to land in July 2020. And while its box office performance was only so-so, Sony must believe that a winter window is the best place for its follow-up, too. This date means it’ll now go head-to-head with Warner Bros.’ musical The Color Purple and Paramount animation The Tiger’s Apprentice. Star Trek 4 and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron are also currently attached to the same date, but they both seem destined to be delayed.
Ghostbusters 4 is confirmed to return the action to New York City, as teased by Afterlife‘s post-credits scenes, so expect more of the old-school stars as well as the next generation. The sequel is just one of a clutch of projects Dan Aykroyd’s Ghost Corps label has in the works, alongside a Netflix animated series and a theatrical animated movie, both of which were announced during this June’s Ghostbusters Day — yes, that is a real thing.