It’s not too much of a surprise, but it’s still a nice bit of news to receive. With VENOM there was no room for doubt at all. VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE was just a monster hit (pun intended) and Venom is Sony’s biggest cash-making comic machine next to Spider-Man. And Sony doesn’t have to work as closely with Marvel, i.e. Disney, on the VENOM films; having to share Spider-Man with Marvel surely has its benefits for Sony—just look at the box office haul for SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME—but it must present the occasional headache, too. With Venom, Sony has mostly free reign. And unlike when Sony has tried to do a Spider-Man movie by itself, the Venom movies actually turn out to be good.
Things were less certain with GHOSTBUSTERS. The box office totals, while successful, weren’t as monstrous as they should have been and would have been had the movie released when it was first supposed to, pre-Rona. More of an obstacle to overcome was getting the stars to agree to it. Bill Murray in particular has proven through the years to be reticent to return to the franchise that made him such a beloved star.
After GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, though, the franchise is on much sturdier ground, and is less dependent on the involvement of all the original performers from the first two films. Fans will be almost as excited to see Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard return as they will be to see Akroyd, Murray, and Hudson. (And Slimer. Bring back Slimer!)
