Summary

• Netflix officially greenlights an animated Ghostbusters series after years of development.
• Elliott Kalan has come onboard as the showrunner, with Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan still involved.
• The new series' focus remains unknown, raising speculation about whether it will follow the original team or new characters.

Netflix’s animated Ghostbusters show has finally been greenlit, more than two years after the project was first announced. Originally revealed to be in development as far back as June 2022, the new animated series was set to be overseen by executive producers Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, the respective directors of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. It would also mark the Ghostbusters franchise’s third animated series, following on from 1986’s The Real Ghostbusters and 1997’s Extreme Ghostbusters.

Per a new report from Variety, the long-gestating Ghostbusters project has now officially been greenlit, with Elliott Kalan (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Mystery Science Theater 3000) coming onboard as the series' new showrunner and executive producer. Both Reitman and Kenan are also involved, per the show’s original 2022 announcement. While plot details are scant, it is reported that it will take the form of a 3D animated show and will be tonally in line with the franchise’s most recent entries.

Which Ghostbusters Team Will Be The Focus Of Netflix’s New Animated Show?

There Have Been Multiple Attempts At Introducing A New Generation of Ghostbusters

Over the years, the Ghostbusters franchise has repeatedly attempted to introduce new teams, with varying degrees of success. While the most recent live-action movies have established a whole new generation via McKenna Grace’s Phoebe Spengler and her family, 2016’s Ghostbusters: Answer the Call also attempted to introduce its all-female team of paranormal investigators and eliminators. While plans had originally been in place to further expand the franchise with that particular cast of characters, the movie’s mediocre box office performance and divisive public response ultimately prevented the reboot's sequel from moving forward.

While conventional wisdom might suggest they would be best placed to continue the franchise’s current focus on Phoebe Spengler, Kalan may choose to surprise everyone and even go right back to the OG Ghostbusters.

Yet even before Paul Feig’s much-maligned 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, viewers were also introduced to yet another team in 1997’s Extreme Ghostbusters. Consisting of Eduardo Rivera (Rino Romano), Kylie Griffin (Tara Strong), Roland Jackson (Alfonso Ribeiro), and Garrett Miller (Jason Marsden), the Extreme Ghostbusters team were the franchise’s first real attempt at introducing a whole new generation of characters who would dare to follow in the footsteps of the original team.

With this kind of history in mind, it will be interesting to see exactly which team Netflix’s new Ghostbusters animated show may choose to follow. While conventional wisdom might suggest they would be best placed to continue the franchise’s current focus on Phoebe Spengler, Kalan may choose to surprise everyone and even go right back to the OG Ghostbusters and deliver a show that once again follows the adventures of Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stanz, and Winston Zeddemore. Alternately, he may even try his hand at introducing yet another whole new team of Ghostbusters.

Source: Variety