Ghostbusters: Afterlife brought the 80s franchise back from the doldrums with a well-received mix of nostalgia and new characters, and set up a sequel that is filming now and expected to arriving in cinemas this December. However it seems that one person that won’t be joining the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray is Sigourney Weaver, as the actress has confirmed that she is not part of the sequel.

Weaver made a short appearance in a post-credits scene of Ghostbusters: Afterlife as Dana Barrett, performing a very familiar Zener cards psychic test on Murray’s Peter Venkman in a flip of the opening scene of 1984’s Ghostbusters when Venkman is testing some of his students in a somewhat unfair manner. While this scene potentially set up the return of Dana in this year’s instalment, according to Collider, Weaver revealed her lack of involvement in the film while discussing her new movie, Master Gardner. When asked if she would put in another appearance as Dana Barrett, Weaver initially joked that she might be coming back as Slimer’s mother, but then added:

"No, I mean, I wasn't asked to be in this Ghostbusters, and I think, you know, a little of us goes a long way."

Although it is disappointing to know that Weaver will not be part of the movie, especially seeing as Dana and Venkman seem to be on good terms in their scene together, there is still plenty to look forward for fans that waited for 30 years to see the guys back busting ghosts and are now getting an even less likely fourth film for their troubles.

Related: Ernie Hudson Says He Was Shunned in the Ghostbuster Franchise

Ghostbusters 4 Will Bring the Franchise Back to a Familiar Location.

Ghostbusters (1984) - Firehouse
Columbia Pictures

Ghostbusters: Afterlife delivered plenty of Easter eggs, from terror dogs to one-liners, but the one thing it kept back until the end of the movie was the sight of the old firehouse that became such an iconic part of the original movies. In this year’s sequel, the firehouse will be back in action as the plot movies back to Manhattan, with the old Ghostbusters and the family of Egon all living in the New York Ghostbusters Headquarters.

Since the last movie, it seems that the newcomers to the franchise will be donning Ghostbusters jumpsuits, suggesting that Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard will all be fully-fledged members of the busting team this time around. However, what the plot of the movie will be is currently a guarded secret but there have been some small bits of information revealed in various interviews and set images seen in the last few months.

While Jason Reitman, who produces this time around, has teased a possible appearance by Ghostbusters II’s Viggo in some form, one villain from the original movie that has been seen on set is Walter Peck, the environmental agent played by William Atherton, who was last seen receiving a large dollop of toasted Marshmallow Man on his head at the end of the movie. What his role will be this time around has not yet been revealed, but it is clear that once again, even without the involved of Sigourney Weaver, there will be plenty of ties back to the original movies in the franchise.

The currently untitled Ghostbusters 4 is expected to arrive in cinemas on December 20, 2023.