It wasn’t that long ago when we learned that Bridesmaids director Paul Feig was putting together an all-female reboot of the Ghostbusters series, but now it seems that was merely the beginning of Sony’s plans for the franchise. Next up will be another male-driven Ghostbusters film, with the studio eyeing Channing Tatum for the starring role.
The news comes from Deadline, who reports that Sony has formed a new division called Ghostcorps. The principal members include original Ghostbusters creators Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman, and they’ll be tasked to explore new ways to expand the franchise. First on that list is the aforementioned film, with Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who are also expected to produce.
The Russo Brothers recently signed a first-look deal with Sony, and thanks to their experience with Marvel, many assumed that they would be in line to direct the Spider-Man reboot. That seems far less likely now, as they would almost certainly move straight into Ghostbusters after wrapping production on Captain America: Civil War. There have also been rumors that Marvel wanted the Russo Brothers for both of the Avengers: Infinity War films, but we’ll see what happens with that – these guys are about to be busy.
Here’s what Reitman had to say about the future of the Ghostbusters franchise:
“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.”
Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3, Mission: Impossible 5) will write the film, with Channing Tatum and partners Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan also expected to produce. The idea is for Tatum to star in the film, which would mark another franchise hitching their wagons to his ever-increasing star power, after his successful turns in 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike. With Tatum confirmed for the Gambit standalone film over at 20th Century Fox, don’t look for this Ghostbusters sequel to begin production until he’s finished with that project.
So, dear readers – what do you think of this idea? Do we really need a sprawling multimedia Ghostbusters universe? Let us know in the comments below.
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