Look out lady ‘Ghostbusters,’ you are going to have some competition. It seems that Sony and the creative team behind ‘Ghostbusters,’ including Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman (who have been speaking the most to the press about the project), have announced that they want to finally open up the franchise, first by releasing a second film starring Channing Tatum and being directed by the Russo Brothers and following that with more films, TV shows, merchandise and the like. See below for the full statement that Deadline received from Reitman:
“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.”
As part of the ‘Ghostbusters’ project, Sony is launching a new production company known as Ghostcorps, the heads of which will include Aykroyd and Reitman who will be tasked with seeking out branding opportunities based on the franchise, as well as having creative input on all the new films/ TV shows that may result. As for the Channing Tatum starring and Russo brothers directed film , this might have big consequences for the other franchises those three are already tapped into, including Tatum’s stint as ‘Gambit,’ as the filming of which might delay the ‘Ghostbusters’ movie (or vice-versa), and the Russo’s potential jobs as the directors of ‘Avengers: Infinity Wars’,’ which would be a hard schedule to work around considering how soon Sony would want the ‘Ghostbuster movie to begin production.
No matter what, it seems like the frightening franchise is going to be re-introduced to pop-culture in a big way in the coming years. Here’s hoping they manage to find the right tone to entertain both old and new fans alike, and keep alive the 30 year old franchise that is so beloved.
