Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire would be the first movie within the Ghostbusters franchise to be launched following the loss of life of Ivan Reitman — who directed the unique 1984 movie.
The director’s son, Jason Reitman, took over the franchise with the 2021 revival, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and whereas he does not direct the upcoming installment — handing the reins over to Gil Kenan — Jason informed ET’s Rachel Smith that he knew he had an obligation to honor his father’s legacy in co-writing the newest movie.
“I mean, I was thinking of my father every day,” Jason shared on the Frozen Empire New York Metropolis premiere this week. “But he was with us. My father passed the proton pack to me and now I’m thrilled to pass it to Gil Kenan.”
Jason, who can recall being seven years outdated on the set of the primary Ghostbusters movie, stated the solid and crew of Frozen Empire — which incorporates returning OG solid members Invoice Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson — “felt my dad smiling on this film the whole way.”
“My father always wanted more Ghostbusters stories,” he continued. “And I think he’d be thrilled at the fact that this one has a whole new villain and a whole new story and all these new comedians in it. That’s the stuff that would make him the happiest.”
Ivan Reitman died in his sleep at his house in Montecito, California, on February 12, 2022, on the age of 75. In a press release to the Related Press on the time, Jason and his sisters, Catherine and Caroline, stated, “We take comfort that his work as a filmmaker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world. While we mourn privately, we hope those who knew him through his films will remember him always.”
Subsequent up, Jason is paying tribute to a different iconic legacy, along with his movie, SNL 1975, which particulars the chaos and comedy of Saturday Night time Dwell‘s premiere episode on Oct. 11, 1975.
The author and director dipped into his Ghostbusters household once more for the movie — casting Finn Wolfhard as an NBC web page, and he informed ET that the choice was a no brainer.
“Finn is one of the greatest actors on Earth,” he raved. “He’s the guy you want next to you on set when everything’s going downhill. He makes you more confident, he makes it seem better, he’s always looking for the win and I love the kid. I’ll work with him on anything.”
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is in theaters nationwide on March 22.
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