Ghostbusters live-action and animated film in the works

22 March 2017

Producer Ivan Reitman has confirmed there is both a 'Ghostbusters' live-action and animated film in the works.

Ivan Reitman

The 70-year-old filmmaker - who produced the two original 'Ghostbusters' movies in 1984 and 1989 - has revealed there are several plans to expand the blockbuster sci-fi franchise with the live adaptation and animated features being just the tip of the iceberg for what they have in store.

Reitman told website iO9: "We jumped into an animated film [after the last movie] and we are developing [a] live-action film. 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."

It's not known if the new movies will be a sequel to the 2016 all-female version - which starred Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones - or whether Sony and Ghost Corps will finally cast Chris Pratt and Channing Tatum in an entirely new film.

In 2015, Reitman and director Dan Aykroyd revealed they were planning on expanding the franchise further, including a movie featuring 'Magic Mike XXL' star Tatum.

At the time, Reitman said: "We want to expand the 'Ghostbusters' universe in ways that will include different films, TV shows, merchandise, all things that are part of modern filmed entertainment.

"This is a branded entertainment, a scary supernatural premise mixed with comedy. Paul Feig's film will be the first version of that, shooting in June to come out in July 2016. He's got four of the funniest women in the world, and there will be other surprises to come."

Tatum was, at the time, linked to producing and featuring as a protagonist in one of the films and 'Mission: Impossible 5' scriptwriter Drew Pearce was also rumoured to be part of the project after a series of Sony emails leaked last year.

Ivan said: "The second film has a wonderful idea that builds on that. Drew will start writing and the hope is to be ready for the Russo Brothers' next window next summer to shoot, with the movie coming out the following year. It's just the beginning of what I hope will be a lot of wonderful movies."

"My primary focus will be to build the Ghostbusters into the universe it always promised it might become. The original film is beloved, as is the cast, and we hope to create films we will continue to love."