What is Ghostbusters 2020?

Ghostbusters 2020 was the informal name and #GB20 hashtag for Jason Reitman's sequel to the original Ghostbusters series, which was later released under the title Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Where did Ghostbusters 2020 come from?

It started with Jason Reitman's January 15, 2019 Entertainment Weekly interview and his same-day #GB20 tweet reading "Finally got the keys to the car".

What does Ghostbusters 2020 mean?

The name pointed to the film's originally targeted 2020 release window and its stance as a direct sequel to Ghostbusters II rather than a continuation of the 2016 reboot.

How do you use Ghostbusters 2020?

Fans used the #GB20 tag on Twitter to share teaser reactions, Ecto-1 spotting, and opinions on whether the film should honor the original series or the 2016 reboot.

Is Ghostbusters 2020 still popular?

The hashtag faded once the film was officially branded as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and fan discussion now centers on the released movie rather than the #GB20 announcement moment.

Ghostbusters 2020

2019hashtagdead

Published August 24, 2026

Ghostbusters 2020 is the fan nickname and #GB20 hashtag that Jason Reitman used on Twitter in January 2019 to tease his direct sequel to the original Ghostbusters series, a project that was later formally titled Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

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Overview

Ghostbusters 2020 is how fans first referred to Jason Reitman's follow-up to Ghostbusters II, using the #GB20 hashtag Reitman himself introduced in January 20191. The project was framed as a direct continuation of the 1984 and 1989 films rather than a further chapter in the 2016 female-led reboot Ghostbusters: Answer the Call1.

The buildup lived almost entirely on Twitter, where teaser images and short video clips of the returning Ecto-1 were shared by Reitman before any cast or plot details were confirmed2. The rollout also reopened arguments around the 2016 film, splitting the fandom between viewers who welcomed a return to the original timeline and those who felt the new project sidelined the reboot cast4.

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Origin & Background

Platform

Entertainment Weekly (announcement) / Twitter (viral spread)

Creator

Jason Reitman

Date

2019

On January 15, 2019, Entertainment Weekly ran an interview in which Jason Reitman, son of original director Ivan Reitman, confirmed he was making a present-day sequel to 1989's Ghostbusters II1. In the piece, he called himself "the first Ghostbusters fan" from visiting his father's set as a child and said the new film would honor the original franchise rather than reboot it1.

Hours after the article ran, Reitman tweeted "Finally got the keys to the car. #GB20," which drew more than 2,700 retweets and 17,000 likes within two days2. He followed up the next day with a short teaser of the Ecto-1, captioned "Everybody can relax, I found the car. #GB20," pulling another 5,600 retweets in a single day2.

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How It Spread

Reactions to the announcement split along the same lines as the 2016 reboot discourse. Twitter user @cevangelista413 wrote "As good a time as any to admit I really liked the GHOSTBUSTERS reboot, and am sad we'll never get a sequel," collecting over 725 retweets and 4,300 likes4. Others mocked the backlash to the all-female cast, with @AdriOfTheDead joking "wow I can't believe they're rebooting the ghostbusters movie with an all-male cast, what kind of pandering shit is this," which pulled roughly 130 retweets and 610 likes in a day4.

On February 20, 2019, the film blog The Playlist highlighted a portion of a Reitman interview where he said he wanted the movie to be "for the fans"3. Writer Soraya Chemaly and other critics read that framing as tacit approval of the harassment campaign that had targeted Leslie Jones and the rest of the 2016 cast3. Reitman apologized the same day, tweeting his admiration for Paul Feig, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones, and calling their work brave2.

Paul Feig replied publicly in defense of Reitman, writing that Reitman had backed him at a low point in his career and calling him "a true gentleman"5. The film was ultimately branded Ghostbusters: Afterlife rather than Ghostbusters 2020, and the #GB20 tag was retired once official marketing took over4.

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