Jason Reitman Spoke To Diablo Cody About 'Ghostbusters' Franchise

Going all the way back to the 1990s, Sony Pictures had been desperately trying to mount a third hard-canon “Ghostbusters” movie on the big screen. When those plans eventually crumbled in the 2010s, director Paul Feig was given the keys to attempt a female-driven reboot with 2016’s “Ghostbusters: Answer The Call,” which was largely seen as a flop as it was concurrently embattled by hateful, misogynistic online trolls.

Its failure (and the death of Harold Ramis) seemed to galvanize a proper “Ghostbusters 3” into production with Ivan Reitman‘s (“Ghostbusters“) son Jason Reitman (“Juno,” “Up In The Air“) directing, making “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” a family affair.

READ MORE: ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’: Jason Reitman Hopeful Other Directors Will Play In The ‘Ghostbusters’ Sandbox With Future Films

During an interview on the podcast Happy Sad Confused (listen below), Jason Reitman revealed he has unnamed filmmakers in mind for potential further installments and “Ghostbusters” sequels. Eventually, he confirmed speaking to Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno“) and longtime collaborator about potentially getting involved with the franchise as well.

“I would love to see ‘Ghostbusters’ movies from all my favorite filmmakers.” When asked to follow-up by naming names, “I could but I don’t want to jinx it because I actually do believe in this idea.”

Reitman was asked later in the interview about Diablo Cody writing a movie within the franchise, they’ve made four films in total so far, including “Young Adult,” “Jennifer’s Body” (Reitman as producer), and “Tully” (and have an HBO series in the works). “If you don’t think I haven’t had this conversation with her, then you don’t know our relationship well enough. Yeah, we have [spoken about ‘Ghostbusters’],” he said. “I’d love to see a Diablo Cody ‘Ghostbusters’ movie. She’s one of the best storytellers alive, we’ve made four movies together and I’d love to make a fifth.”

Jason Reitman pulled from all corners of the franchise for the sequel including the non-canon cartoon “The Real Ghostbusters” and various things from the show’s popular toyline, giving audiences the fan service and multiple Easter Egg hunts. It seemed to even blend elements from the obscure 1990s cartoon “Extreme Ghostbusters” putting the proton packs in the hands of a younger and less experienced group of busters expected to continue the franchise.

The filmmaker also jokingly teased how we could see the return of “Ghostbusters II” villain, Vigo The Carpathian.

“There is a lot of time and opportunity for Vigo The Carpathian to make his return. Look, are you saying that’s the only painting of Vigo The Carpathian? Maybe, he’s riding a horse in another one, maybe, impaling someone in another one.”

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is playing in theaters now and you can read The Playlist’s review here.