New GHOSTBUSTERS Cartoon In The Works
Word comes out of Sony Pictures’ animation division that a new animated series is planned as part of what seems increasingly to be a long-term multi-channel reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise.
The series, tentatively titled Ghostbusters: Ecto Force is being kept very much under wraps at the moment. Very little is known except that it will be set in the year 2050, and is being helmed by Ivan Reitman, director of the original movie.
This will make the third animated outing for the Ghostbusters universe. First off was The Real Ghostbusters, which ran from 1986 to 1991. This series is fondly remembered for cleaving close to the spirit of the original. However, many felt that its success led to the “cartoony” feel of Ghostbusters II, to its detriment.
The second series, Extreme Ghostbusters, featured OG (Original Ghostbuster) Egon Spengler training up a new generation of teenage ‘busters. This premiered in 1997 and lasted only the one season.
There was also a short-lived series by Filmation in 1986, based on The Ghost Busters, an obscure Forrest Tucker / Larry Storch vehicle from 1975. Both the cartoon and its namesake lasted only one season. If twelve-year-old you ever wondered where the “real” in Real Ghostbusters came from…well, now you know.
This will be the first time Reitman will be involved with any of the animated versions. No word yet on characters or voice talent, but given the setting it seems reasonable to assume that there will be an all-new roster.
Interestingly, some of the original iterations of Dan Aykroyd’s Ghostbusters concept took place in the future, with the NYC ‘busters just another group of working stiffs. Ghost janitors, basically. While a rollback to this idea seems unlikely to say the least, it is not improbable that the world of Ecto Force will assume the Ghostbusters as a long-established franchise with locations all over.
In any case, we’ll just have to wait and see. The series is currently slated to premiere in 2018.
(Kelly Luck is going to have that theme music stuck in her head all day, now. Her other SciFi4Me work can be read here.)
