One of the things that fans loved about Ghostbusters Afterlife was its slant toward nostalgia and not a complete deconstruction of the original formula. It appears that the sequel to the sequel, currently phantom-named Firehouse, is doubling down on that sentimentality by bringing a special effects legend back into the fold.
Billy Bryan is an industry juggernaut, having worked on films such as Pet Sematary II, The Gate II, Men in Black, Dreamcatcher, and Ghostbusters (1984). Bryan designed and played the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
According to Ghostbuster News, Bryan is taking a place among the creature creator crew of the newest entry.
Afterlife’s effects artist, Arjen Tuiten was only four years old when the original Ghostbusters hit the screen. As an avid fan of that movie, he wanted to keep almost everything practical even down to the Terror Dogs which would have been much easier to create using software and digital effects. Instead, he and his team constructed the monsters by building from a maquette (unfinished scale model). They used clay and foam.
As pre-production has started on the new movie, both Bryan and Tuitjen posted about their return on social media.
Bryan’s Instagram shows a picture of him looking down the barrel of a Nuetrona Wand with the caption, “Here we go again.. and look who is back..”
While Tuiten’s responded, “It’s an honor to have you with us, Bill.”
Tuiten still has his name attached to a Maniac Cop reboot according to IMDb. But news of that film hasn’t been updated in a while except, reportedly, director Frank Martin was in talks with Universal about helming a project based on the 1988 slasher himself, starring Elijah Wood. We are still waiting for any updates on that movie too.
As for the latest chapter in the Ghostbusters universe, it is reported filming will start in the spring with a theatrical release in late 2023.
