After “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” resurrected the franchise in November 2021, Sony Pictures and director Jason Reitman promptly started developing a sequel. Reitman isn’t directing the untitled sequel anymore (writer Gil Kenan is), but it’s still on track for a Christmas 2023 theatrical release. And with that imminent release comes casting news from Deadline: Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt are the latest to join the sequel’s cast. British comedian James Acaster and Emily Alyn Lind are also on board.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023
The four join Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace, and Celeste O’Connor, returning from the 2021 film. Ernie Hudson also returns as Winston in the sequel, but no word on the other surviving original Ghostbusters. The upcoming movie sees the franchise return to New York City and the original films’ firehouse. And maybe that means some other cameos will happen in the sequel, too.
While Reitman may no longer be directing, he’s still very much in the project. He remains on board as a writer-producer with Kenan and Jason Blumenfeld. And Sony hopes to pick up where “Afterlife” left off: that movie made over $200 million at the global box-office, a pleasant surprise for the studio in the post-COVID era.
Nanjiani adds the “Ghostbusters” sequel to his other upcoming roles, like FX‘s “Homeland Elegies” and “The Doubtful Guest.” The actor’s recent work includes “Welcome To Chippendales,” Hulu‘s limited series about the infamous men’s exotic dancing clubs, and Disney+‘s “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” As for Oswalt, he’s coming off from “I Love My Dad,” which won Grand Jury and Audience Awards at SXSW 2022.
Acaster tasted his first stateside success with a four-part comedy series in Netflix in 2018. As for Lind, her recent credits include the two seasons of HBO Max‘s reimagining of “Gossip Girl,” Netflix’s “The Babysitter: Killer Queen,” and Mike Flanagan‘s “Doctor Sleep.”
Expect more new about the “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” sequel as it heads into production.
