A new animated Ghostbusters movie is in the works at Netflix. The franchise expanded earlier in 2024 with the theatrical release of the live-action Ghosbusters: Frozen Empire, which saw Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson reprising their roles from the original film. A Netflix Ghostbusters show is already in development at Netflix and is separate from the animated film project. Elliot Kalan is the showrunner of the developing animated series, while Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan are executive producers.

Deadline has now confirmed Sony Animation and Netflix are working on a Ghostbusters animated movie, with Kris Pearn attached to direct. Pearn previously directed Sony’s Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 and the Netflix animated movie The Willoughbys, the latter of which has an impressive 92% Tomatometer score. Netflix’s animated Ghostbusters movie is still in the early stages of development and plot details are being kept under wraps.

What This Means For Ghostbusters

The Franchise Is Pivoting Toward Animation And Streaming

An animated Ghostbusters movie being developed at Netflix confirms the franchise’s ambitious plans to expand beyond the theatrical landscape. While there was the animated The Real Ghostbusters series that aired from 1986-1991, the Ghostbusters franchise has been primarily based on theatrical movies, ranging from 1984’s original Ghostbusters to Frozen Empire. Despite Frozen Empire‘s strong box office opening, its final numbers proved to be a disappointment, only grossing $202 million worldwide against a $100 million budget (via The Numbers).

Diversifying the franchise’s offerings via streaming, with both an animated series and now an animated movie as well, is seemingly the new approach. The focus on streaming and animation are attempts to reinvigorate the franchise with a new creative approach and a new means of accessibility. Like some Netflix movies, the animated Ghostbusters movie may initially have a limited theatrical release before becoming exclusive to the streaming platform, but the franchise’s overall pivot is still moving toward streaming.

Our Take On Ghosbusters’ Animated Movie

It May Be The Change The Franchise Needs

Since the original’s release in 1984, none of the Ghostbusters movies have managed to live up to the story that started it all. An animated movie and series may be the creative change that the franchise needs to continue moving forward. Animation inherently feels different from the live-action movies and may take away the pressure of featuring legacy characters and elements that audiences have come to expect from the first Ghostbusters. Frozen Empire‘s middling box office performance proved that a different approach needed to be taken, and this animated Ghostbusters movie could be part of an effective new approach.

Source: Deadline, The Numbers

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Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is a multimedia franchise created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The first two films were released in the ’80s, but Ghostbusters III got stuck in development hell for years. Nearly 30 years after Ghostbusters II hit theaters, a reboot starring female Ghostbusters was released, followed by another reboot/sequel in 2021 titled Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The popular characters have also appeared in several video games and animated TV shows since the franchise’s creation in 1984.

Cast

Dan Aykroyd
, Bill Murray
, Ernie Hudson
, Harold Ramis
, Sigourney Weaver
, Annie Potts
, Rick Moranis
, Melissa McCarthy
, Kristen Wiig
, Kate McKinnon
, Leslie Jones
, Chris Hemsworth
, Mckenna Grace
, Paul Rudd
, Finn Wolfhard
, Carrie Coon

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