Ernie Hudson Addresses the Possibility of More Movies Following 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' (Exclusive)

More than 35 years later, the world is still calling for the Ghostbusters as the beloved quartet and their paranormal shenanigans have become deeply woven into the very fabric of our pop culture genome. Between three movies, a plethora of video games and multiple animated TV series, the Ghostbusters we've come to love are finally gearing up for another chapter with Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters: Afterlife, picking up right after the 1989 sequel blockbuster. But with the movie releasing next March and sparking speculation of a "new generation" at the helm of ghost hunting, could more movies be on the horizon?

In an exclusive interview with Ernie Hudson for PopCulture's series PopCulture @ Home, the 74-year-old actor is addressing the question on everyone's mind: Will the franchise continue well after next spring's release?

"It's probably too soon to say," he said. "But I never understood, because we're talking about ghostbusting. I mean, it was four guys. But you're talking about busting ghosts — you know what I mean? I was always a little disappointed for a number of reasons why we didn't do more. We did the second one and I know that there was a lot of resistance […] There was all kinds of reasons why I'm told, I don't know what's real and what's not real. All I know is, it didn't happen until now."

The film, which Hudson assures will be a "special" chapter for fans of the beloved film franchise, began development shortly after the 2016 movie Ghostbusters: Answer the Call — starring Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig — underperformed at the box office. Reitman — who can be noted as the first official Ghostbusters fan as a 6-year-old visiting the set of his dad Ivan Reitman's 1984 classic — wrote the script for Afterlife, which Hudson calls a "continuation" of what happened in the '80s.

"I think if the fans love the movie, I would love to see more," Hudson said. "Obviously, if the movie doesn't work, then […] sometimes it's hard to go. You can't redo or make the magic that happened, but you can make new magic. And I think this one will be [it]."

While the movie will be noticeably missing one of its four members in the late Harold Ramis as the beloved Dr. Egon Spengler, who died in 2014, Hudson says the presence of his dear friend and co-star will be felt for fans watching Afterlife. "Harold was just an amazing guy and a good friend. Of all the guys, I consider Harold really a close friend. I mean, I love all the guys, but Harold was really [...] he would be very happy with this movie."

Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits theaters March 5, 2021. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for more with Ernie Hudson, all things Ghostbusters and everything you want to know about your favorite stars and blockbuster film franchises.