'Ghostbusters' Animated TV Series Coming In 2018

It'll be a few more weeks before we see how Paul Feig's Ghostbusters has turned out, but Sony isn't waiting to double down on that property. Sony Pictures Animation has just announced a new Ghostbusters animated TV series to hit in 2018, titled Ghostbusters: Ecto Force. The biggest twist? This new show will be set in the year 2050 — decades after the events of the old Ghostbusters or the new one. 

Here's how Sony describes the new Ghostbusters animated TV series.

A brand new animated television series, GHOSTBUSTERS: ECTO FORCE, will further expand the Ghostbusters cinematic universe and focus on a new generation of Ghostbusters in the year 2050 who capture ghosts around the world with help from local teams—and some very cool gear! The younger-skewing Sony Pictures Animation project is being creatively spearheaded by Ivan Reitman and his production company Ghost Corps. GHOSTBUSTERS: ECTO FORCE is eyeing an early 2018 debut.

It's interesting that Ghostbusters: Ecto Force won't follow the new Ghostbusters or the old ones, but rather an entirely new team. (Though we are talking about a supernatural universe, so I suppose it's possible the old Ghostbusters are still kicking in some form in the year 2050.) That's probably a smart move. The 30+ year jump automatically sets Ghostbusters: Ecto Force apart from the other Ghostbusters films, and gives it the chance to carve out its own story without worrying about what's happening in the live-action continuity. At the same time, it leaves the door open for a shared continuity or crossover special should the desire arise.

This is a separate project from the Ghostbusters animated movie that Sony has also been trying to get off the ground. That one is also being produced by Reitman, and according to early reports will follow the familiar people-busting-ghosts premise from the ghosts' point of view.

The Ghostbusters previously got animated for the TV series The Real Ghostbusters, which aired from 1986 to 1991 and followed the core characters from the original Ghostbusters movie. That show yielded a short-lived sequel, Extreme Ghostbusters, in 1997, which saw Egon Spengler recruiting a team of new, younger Ghostbusters.