The next generation of Ghostbusters will be back on the big screen in 2024, as the Ghostbusters: Afterlife series moves back to its spiritual home of New York City.

2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife was a hugely successful ghostbusting reboot and introduced the iconic 80s franchise to a new generation. The film featured a talented new cast, including Handmaid's Tale star Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame. Much to the delight of fans, it also reunited the original Ghostbusters stars, including Bill Murray.

Afterlife grossed $200m (£160m) at the global box office and told the story of a single mother and her two kids who moved to a seemingly mundane town in Oklahoma, where strange things started to occur.

Read more: How Groundhog Day broke Bill Murray's relationship with Harold Ramis

Not long after they arrive begin to discover their family connection to the original Ghostbusters and must continue their ghost-trapping legacy.

Watch a trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Since the first Ghostbusters film in 1984 — starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd — the franchise has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon, grossing millions of dollars and spawning a huge range of toys, comic books, video games and merchandise.

Codenamed Firehouse, the so far untitled Afterlife sequel will see the new proton pack gang return to battle once again the supernatural and protect the public from spooks, spectres and marshmallow ghouls.

Here’s everything we know about the Ghostbusters sequel so far.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 release date

The currently untitled Ghostbusters sequel is set for release on 29 March, 2024 which is Easter weekend.

The film was originally slated for release at Christmas 2023, but was delayed amid the ongoing writer and actor strike.

Ghostbusters afterlife cast

Ghostbusters Afterlife introduced fresh faces to the Ghostbusters franchise including Paul Rudd as Gary Grooberson, Carrie Coon as Callie Spengler, Wolfhard as Trevor Spengler and Grace as Phoebe Spengler.

It also hailed the return of beloved original cast members Bill Murray as Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd as Raymond “Ray” Stantz, Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore, Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett, and Annie Potts as Janine Malnitz.

Will the sequel include this multigenerational cast of old and new busters? Grace has confirmed she’s set to come back and Coon and Rudd are also joining her for more spirit-chasing escapades.

Also joining the cast, according to Deadline, are Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt and UK comedian James Acaster.

The return of the 80s ghostbusting crew has yet to be confirmed though Aykroyd has been very vocal about wanting to join the cast.

In a discussion with USA Today, Aykroyd shared that he wants his character Ray and Murray’s Peter to be killed in the next film and have their ghost guide the new Ghostbusters in spirit form.

"I'd like to die. I think Bill and I should be killed in the next one,” Aykroyd said. “Or, maybe we wait. Why not use the living Ghostbusters – Ernie, Billy and myself – for four, five, and six? Go until we're gone. Then there will be time for the tributes.

"Death is going to take us soon enough.”

Talking to Yahoo in 2021, Hudson said: “I believe they’re writing the new one.”

“Whether Winston’s involved, we’ll wait and see. I’m sure the other guys look at it very differently in terms of their involvement,” he added on whether he thinks Murray and Aykroyd might return for more spectral fun.

“Clearly it’s a new family’s movie so I don’t know if any of the old Ghostbusters can be major players – but being involved as mentors in some way would be a lot of fun.”

Who is directing the Afterlife sequel?

After the commercial success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan signed an overall producing deal with Sony Pictures and got to straight work on the new supernatural script.

“Jason is the thing you dream about, a world-class, signature storyteller, visionary filmmaker, and dream producing partner,” said Sanford Panitch, president of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group.

“Jason and Gil as co-writing partners have a remarkable understanding of commercial quality cinema, and we are thrilled about the upcoming pipeline from these guys.”

Read more: The cartoon that kept the Ghostbusters flame alight

One major change is that after the death of his father Ivan, Reitman will be co-writing rather than directing the 2023 sequel. Creative partnerKenan is the new director.

“A few years ago, my father handed me the keys to Ecto-1," said Reitman, "and together we made Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Words will never express how grateful I am to have made a film with my father by my side.

"It’s now time to hand those keys to my creative partner and fellow Ghostbuster Gil Kenan, a brilliant director who will keep the Spengler spirit alive. I can only hope to provide him the same producorial care and support that my father showed me.”

“It’s an absolute honour to pick up the proton pack and step behind the camera for the next chapter of the Spengler family saga,” said Kenan. “I just wish I could go back to 1984 and tell the kid in the sixth row of the Mann Valley West that one day he was going to get to direct a Ghostbusters film.”

What is the plot of the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel?

Ghostbusters: Afterlife's post-credits scene shows Hudson’s Winston Zeddemore driving the Ecto-1 back to its original ghostbusting home – New York City.

In the scene, we can see the ECTO-1 pulling into a firehouse before a red light starts flashing on a containment unit, could this be the spooky NYC set-up for the sequel?

Will the gang be heading back to the big apple and set up shop in the iconic converted firehouse? Plot details are yet to be confirmed and even the cast is desperate to find out what the new adventures will entail.

"I'm constantly pressuring Jason Reitman, our director, I'm always trying to figure out what the story is," star Grace revealed to ComicBook.com.

"I literally have no ounce of a clue what the story is. If I knew about a Marvel film or if I knew about Ghostbusters, I'd be sitting here and I'd be like, 'I have no clue, and it's driving me nuts.' I'm just excited to do a second one. I'm just excited to be Phoebe."

Co-writer Reitman has revealed that he already has many plans for the sequel’s storyline and has teased fans with proposed storylines and nostalgia nuggets.

During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Reitman said that the sequel may see the comeback of creepy supernatural foe Vigo, whom we first met in the 1989 sequel, Ghostbusters II.

According to Reitman, there is a “lot of time and opportunity for Vigo The Carpathian to make his return.”

Is there a trailer for the Ghostbusters Afterlife sequel?

Not yet. A trailer has yet to be released for the unnamed sequel as the film is currently in post-production after shooting early 2023.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 is slated for release on 29 March, 2024