Dan Aykroyd Is Back: Executive Producing Netflix's Ghostbusters Animated Series

Looks like Sony is getting serious about wrangling ghosts, because the Ghostbusters brand just won't drift back into the afterlife. Not only are we still catching up with the descendants and legacy characters in movies like 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' and 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,' but the folks over at Ghost Corps (Sony's in-house group for all things Ghostbusters) are about to double down on Netflix, with both an animated movie and an animated series cooking away.

Who's Spooking Netflix?

Here's the latest trick pulled out of the spectral hat: Dan Aykroyd himself is joining as executive producer on the new Ghostbusters animated series headed to Netflix. Yes, that Dan Aykroyd — one of the OG busters and arguably the brand's most vocal champion. This news came out of Netflix's presentation at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which, if you don't follow animation news, is kind of where all the secret projects seem to surface for a day.

The show is set to drop on Netflix sometime in 2027, so don't hold your breath for a trailer any time soon. It's being developed by Sony Pictures Animation (same crew behind 'Spider-Verse'), with production work handled by Netflix and Ghost Corps out of Sony's Columbia Pictures digs.

What Do We Actually Know?

• Dan Aykroyd is on board as executive producer, along with Ben Hibon, Elliott Kalan, Jason Reitman (who directed 'Afterlife'), Gil Kenan ('Frozen Empire'), and Amie Karp.
• No plot details yet — everything's under wraps, typical for this franchise.
• Netflix says the show is 'based on the beloved Ghostbusters IP' (so, ghosts, proton packs, probably some snark).
• Previous rumors suggest it's a 3D animated series with a tone similar to the more recent films, but nobody's revealing which characters are involved.
• Aykroyd hinted the show may actually tackle 'some of the issues that we need to heal and move on with our lives,' whatever that means in a haunted-universe context.

But Wait... There’s More Slime

Meanwhile, let's talk about the animated movie, because this thing has been circling development for years—like, the ghost of projects past. The idea was first floated by the late, great Ivan Reitman (original Ghostbusters director) over a decade ago. At one point, there was talk about telling the story from the ghosts' perspective, which could've been nuts. Fletcher Moules (the guy who directed those Clash of Clans ads you couldn't skip on YouTube) was set to direct for a while.

As of now, the animated feature is being helmed by Kris Pearn (you might know him from 'The Willoughbys'), with Sam Jarvis ('Dollface') writing the current draft. The script's been through multiple hands already—Yoni Brenner of 'The Bad Guys 2' and Christy Hall ('It Ends With Us') both took a swing at it before Jarvis.

What's Next for the Busters?

And just in case you thought Sony would eventually get tired of this, Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan have said in interviews that there are more Ghostbusters movies being planned. No rest for the afterlife, I guess.

'The show has the opportunity to address some of the issues that we need to heal and move on with our lives.' - Dan Aykroyd, on his hopes for the animated series

So that's the state of the Ghostbusters universe: two new animated projects for Netflix, more movies in dev, and Dan Aykroyd still steering the ghost-train decades later. Plot details might be ectoplasmic for now, but yes, they'll keep answering the call.