Ivan Reitman Plotting New Ghostbusters Animated Movie, Says Reboot “Cost Too Much”

Although last year’s Ghostbusters reboot was unfairly shunned by a very vocal pocket of Internet trolls, after mustering a relatively modest $230 million worldwide, it’s no secret that Paul Feig’s soft reboot has left the franchise in a precarious place. Last we reported, Sony was allegedly exploring other live-action movies featuring our ghost-busting heroines, but all has gone quiet on the sequel front for now.

A lack of momentum can be attributed to the sheer cost of Paul Feig’s effects-laden blockbuster, according to series stalwart Ivan Reitman, who recently conceded that all involved were hoping for a bigger hit. Not only that, but after a 30-year hiatus, 2016’s Ghostbusters “cost too much…and that’s the real issue,” according to Reitman. io9 caught up with the franchise veteran to talk all things Ghostbusters, and before outlining his tentative plans for the future of the series, Reitman reflected on what could have been.

“We certainly would’ve loved to have a larger hit. But considering the last film was almost 30 years ago, it really did extremely well. I think the film cost too much, frankly, and that’s the real issue.

“I personally had other points of view in terms of where the film should go and it was kind of a continuous conversation with Paul [Feig, director] about that. But Paul was the filmmaker on this one and he’s a very talented director. I wanted to give him enough room to do the film he thought it should be.”

It’s not all doom and gloom, though, as Ivan Reitman is beginning to piece together a Ghostbusters animated movie, one which may light up theaters as early as 2019. Animated films are a tricky butterfly to pin, as Reitman candidly admitted to io9, but that hasn’t curbed his enthusiasm to fire up the proton pack once again.

“We jumped into an animated film [after the last movie] and we are developing live-action films. I want to bring all these stories together as a universe that makes sense within itself. Part of my job right now is to do that.”

Ensuring the Ghostbusters don’t fade into obscurity will be priority number one for Ivan Reitman, who went on to tease the short-form PlayStation VR title, Ghostbusters VR: Now Hiring. It’s available right now on select platforms, but we’re more intrigued by the live-action future of this most iconic brand. Stay tuned for more.