UPDATE: Devin Faraci over at Badass Digest has dug a little deeper and found some interesting developments in regards to Sony’s plans with Ghostbusters. According to Faraci, Sony plans multiple films that will crossover, you know, like The Avengers. But what’s most interesting is that Channing Tatum isn’t the only name being bandied about in terms of a lead. Since his name comes up in reference to any potential blockbuster these days, Chris Pratt is being discussed as a co-star with Tatum. From Faraci’s report:
First of all, this new Ghostbusters movie isn’t all-male. It isn’t ‘guy-centric.’ I spoke to three different people who were baffled as to where that came from. But it does have some guys at the center – the concept here is a movie that spins out of the chemistry between real-life friends Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt. This isn’t a case of ‘everybody wants Chris Pratt in their movie,’ this is a case of these two guys being pals and wanting to make this movie together.
We’re still a long way off from seeing any of this come to fruition, but it is possible to exhale a nice little sigh of relief that Ghostbusters isn’t going to devolve into some petty boys vs. girls competition.
A few weeks back, news broke that Sony was moving forward with an all-female reboot of Ghostbusters to be helmed by Bridesmaids director Paul Feig. While that film is slated to start production in June, Deadline is reporting that Sony is also working on making another Ghostbusters film, this one with an all-male cast and crew. Among the crew reportedly working on this other new Ghostbusters movie is the original film’s director Ivan Reitman and the original film’s star and co-writer Dan Aykroyd, both of whom will be working as producers. It also said that Joe and Anthony Russo, most famously of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the upcoming Captain America: Civil War are slated to direct with Drew Pearce, screenwriter of Iron Man 3, tapped to write the project. But that’s not the extent of the studio’s high hopes for this film, as they’re also trying get Channing Tatum into the fold to star.
The timing for this seems a bit odd. I can’t tell if Sony is just trying to hedge their bets, fearing that men won’t turn out for an all-female Ghostbusters. If that is the rationale, it’s wrong. Look at the massive success of Bridesmaids, which made men and women equally laugh.
Based on quotes by Reitman, as well as the attempts to round up anyone who has worked on recent Marvel movies, it really appears that this is an attempt to create a larger, interconnected Ghostbuster universe. Reitman told Deadline:
“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. […] 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.”
With so many stops and starts to a potential Ghostbusters 3, a wait and see attitude is probably what’s best. I really don’t know what to make of all this just yet, and only time will help clear these muddied waters. I only hope that this new project doesn’t come at the expense of Feig’s film.
