Now that Ghostbusters Afterlife is out on the big screen, it’s time to look ahead at whether or not there will be a sequel to the most recent film in the series. The 2021 comedy action spook fest is itself a direct sequel to Ghostbusters II, but it sort of follows more closely behind the first film, picking up on the story of Egon Spengler and the Cult of Goza.
It’s closely linked to the 1984 Manhattan crossrip, which saw ghosts roaming the streets on the wider Tri-State Area before Ray, Egon, Winston and Peter stepped in with their proton packs. It took crossed streams and the defeat of a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to get the job done and there are links to it all in the new film. Obviously, answering the question will entail talking about the plot of the film, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you might want to back out now and come back afterwards.
AdvertisementThere are two main points in terms of whether or not there will be yet another sequel to look forward to, though. Firstly, there’s the question of whether or not the film teases or hints at a prospective forth film, and secondly has the film done well enough on the big screen to merit another return.
The 2016 reboot, which didn’t do well with critics, fans or cinema-goers, taught us that just because a sequel is teased, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will happen. Although, in all fairness, that tease did go on to get re-positioned for Ghostbusters Afterlife, which runs with the Zuul craziness and takes it to the next level in the fictional mid-west town of Summerville.
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Does Ghostbusters Afterlife tease a sequel
AdvertisementThe short answer is yes, in a big way, in the end-credits scene featuring Janine and Winston. It all begins at the very end of the film when Winston talks about fixing Ecto-1 up, and then before the credits roll, we see it driving across the Manhattan bridge with the alarms ringing about.
At the end of the credits, after the funny mid-credits sequence with Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver, we see Janine and Winston discussing the business that he’s built up. It then cuts to the old Ghostbuster headquarters at the firehouse, which appears to be owned by Winston, and not turned into a Starbucks, which Ray mentions earlier in Afterlife.
AdvertisementAfter that, the scene cuts to the basement where the containment facility is still operational, but a red light is flashing and an alarm beeping. This is a pretty big indication that something is about to go wrong with it, which clearly set things up for the potential of a sequel with this being the catalyst to the action.
Taking all of this into account, it looks as though Winston is going to head up the recruitment of a new group of Ghostbusters in New York, using his wealth to fund the whole operation. If it does get the go ahead, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not Winston suits up again, or if he just acts as the man behind the new team he looks to be about to bring together.
There are also questions about whether or not the rest of the cast from Ghostbusters Afterlife would feature in a prospective sequel with pretty much the entire extended Spengler family doing more than enough warrant a return. This could either be with some kind of team-up with the new batch or as a splinter team for the western side of the US. The film leaves a lot of possibilities open for a wider universe and franchise for Ghostbusters, but it all comes down to the success.
Is the film successful enough to get a sequel
It’s still early days in terms of the success of Ghostbusters Afterlife, but it’s looking promising at the moment. Reviews have played it safe by talking positively about the film, while also highlighting the potential for fan polarization, so it could go either way.
It’s a tough time to judge success with the Global COVID-19 pandemic, but if you factor that in, the 2021 film needs to stack up well with the other films that have come out this year. This will mean breaking into the top ten of Hollywood flicks that have been released, with the likes of F9, No Time To Die, Venom 2, Shang-Chi, Black Widow and Dune to compete with.
If that isn’t enough of a challenge, there are still some big name movies yet to come in 2021 with Spider Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Revolutions on the cards. It would be a tough year without the pandemic, but with it th challenge is even more significant.
Ghostbusters went fairly big on its sequel tease at the end of the film, but it just didn’t have the success or fan appreciation to do enough to land it. Despite the polarizing point above, Afterlife has done enough for us to win over a good proportion of the fans, both new and old, so it’s all going to come to ticket sales for the sequel to get the green light. However, even if the box office stats aren’t quite amazing, it would probably be a missed opportunity not to capitalize on the franchise now.
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