Ivan Reitman Says a New 'Ghostbusters' Movie Likely Coming in 2019

08/31/2017 04:15 pm EDT

Following the lackluster reception of last year's Ghostbusters reboot, the future of the franchise has had its fair share of ups and downs. During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, director of the original film and creative force in the franchise Ivan Reitman assured audiences that not only would an animated film be on the way, but also a live-action sequel that could see the stars of the reboot collide with stars of the original film.

As reported by Den of Geek, Reitman explained, "I think we have wonderful plans, [including] an animated feature that we're deep in design on already… a really great story."

"That's going to surprise everybody, I think, when it comes out. And we're dealing with Ghost World quite a lot. We're looking at the film from a ghost point-of-view, and the Ghostbusters from a ghost point-of-view. I think that would be something very interesting," he continued.

Reitman also clarified, "And of course a new live-action film."

UP NEXT: The Ghostbusters Reboot Has Sequels In Development

The 2016 reboot might have gotten mostly positive reviews, but considering the high budget of the film due to its sophisticated special effects, it was mostly regarded as a financial disappointment. Reitman cites another reason he believes the film didn't perform as expected, while also giving details of what a new live-action film could consist of.

"It was clear a lot of people weren't happy the original Ghostbusters world wasn't included in the new one," Reitman noted. "I love seeing [writer Erik Burnham's take on] Kate McKinnon's character's interactions with Spengler [in the Ghostbusters 101 comic books]. It's very rich, and has given me lots of ideas for a new film."

MORE NEWS: Ghostbusters Concept Art Featuring Female Slimer

Considering Harold Ramis, the actor who played Spengler, passed away in 2014, it's unclear how he could be incorporated in the live-action universe the way Reitman claims to have "lots of ideas" about. In fact, other than Rick Moranis, Ramis was the only star of the original film who didn't have a speaking part in last year's reboot, but was still honored in the form of a marble bust at a university.

With 2019 marking the 35th anniversary of the original film's release, Reitman hinted that "the studio is going to try to tie one of the new films close to that date."

Considering the reboot was intended to kick off a long string of shared universe films under the banner of the "Ghost Corps," and with the reboot not being a complete failure, it sounds like the original plans for the series of films will still move forward, just not at an explosive pace.

Disclosure: PopCulture. is owned by Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.