The Ghostbusters franchise is one of the most enduring pop culture offerings in the history of Hollywood. But for actress Carrie Coon, becoming a part of that history with a role in the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife was not a done deal. Coon recently revealed to Collider that she had serious reservations about her role in the movie, that were ultimately assuaged by director Jason Reitman.

"That was certainly one of the things I was afraid of when I first was approached about it. I think of Dee Wallace in ET who is a wonderful actress who then sort of became - well, she actually went on, had a really interesting life, but, you know, she became sort of the franchise mom. And I thought about that, but Jason is smarter than that. Jason is the next generation, and he wrote a lot of fun for all of us, and it was one of the reasons I said yes to it. You know, she actually has a personality, a sense of humor and she does get in on the action, and that was really fun for me! I mean, I'm a Ghostbuster basically, which is insane! I grew up with that movie!"

Already an established television and film actress, Carrie Coon is well known for her lead role in the HBO series The Leftovers, and prominent appearances in Fargo and The Sinners. While playing a mother in an adventure film might seem like a step back career-wise, Coon appears confident her role in the upcoming movie will be more substantial than simply checking up on her children while they get to have all the central story arcs.

Although there have been past attempts to reboot the franchise with mixed results, Ghostbusters: Afterlife brings the series back into the family fold, so to speak. The director of the movie, Jason Reitman, is the son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the original two Ghostbusters movie. Reitman Sr. is also acting as producer on the project. The co-writer of the screenplay is Gil Kenan, who was in charge of the 2015 Poltergeist reboot. In an interview with Bill Burr last year, Jason Reitman had explained how he intends to bring the franchise "back to the fans" with Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

"We went back to the work files for the sound of the proton pack. And we went back to the stems of Elmer Berstein's score. Just for where it says, in the teaser, 'Summer 2020,' we went back and found the original physical vinyl letters they used to create the Ghostbusters poster in 1984. Rescanned them and then our titles guys reprinted them. We filmed the titles. Not like in a computer. We shot physical titles with a light and smoke effect because that's how they would have done it back in the day."

Ghostbusters: Afterlife has been directed by Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the film with Gil Kenan. Featuring a lead cast of Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, and Mckenna Grace, the film arrives in theaters next year. This news comes from Collider.