Bustin’ to make guys feel good again.
By Brandon Wolfe
Opponents to the recently announced female-driven Ghostbusters reboot (who have been nothing if not a perfectly reasonable and gentlemanly lot) can take solace in the news that Sony is also producing a male-centric Ghostbusters film as a companion piece to Paul Feig’s film. The studio has launched Ghostcorps, a production shingle headed up by original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman and star Dan Aykroyd, and plans are in the works to trap a lot of promising talent into the project’s proton stream. Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the upcoming Civil War, recently signed a first-look deal at Sony and are looking to direct and produce this latest Ghostbusters, with Iron Man 3 and Mission: Impossible 5 scribe Drew Pearce writing the script. Channing Tatum is also attached as a producer, with an eye to star in the film.
“We want to expand the Ghostbusters universe in ways that will include different films, TV shows, merchandise, all things that are part of modern filmed entertainment,” said Reitman. “This is a branded entertainment, a scary supernatural premise mixed with comedy. Paul Feig’s film will be the first version of that, shooting in June to come out in July 2016. He’s got four of the funniest women in the world, and there will be other surprises to come. The second film has a wonderful idea that builds on that. Drew will start writing and the hope is to be ready for the Russo Brothers’ next window next summer to shoot, with the movie coming out the following year. It’s just the beginning of what I hope will be a lot of wonderful movies.”
“My primary focus will be to build the Ghostbusters into the universe it always promised it might become,” Reitman adds. “The original film is beloved, as is the cast, and we hope to create films we will continue to love.”
It remains to be seen how this deal will impact the Russo Brothers’ Marvel plans. Civil War is their immediate focus for the near future, but the expectation had been for the duo to take over directing duties for the two-part Avengers: Infinity War from Joss Whedon, something which this Ghostbusters deal might throw a wrench into.
And though Reitman and Aykroyd’s direct participation in Boy Ghostbusters might seem to indicate that it will follow the path set forth by the original two films rather than by Feig’s film, which will break completely from previous continuity, the implication based on Reitman’s comments seems to be that this film will be an extension of the world that Feig’s film initiates, what with shared universes being all the rage these days. So more than likely, Bill Murray is still off the hook.
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