The female-driven Ghostbusters reboot is moving forward at Sony Pictures with Paul Feig set to direct. The Bridesmaids and The Heat helmer has spoken with Empire about his plans for the film, revealing that he wants to make it scarier than the original, target a PG-13 rating and offer a Ghostbusters team that may be significantly larger than fans might be expecting.
“Right now, honestly, there could be 50 Ghostbusters,” Feig tells the magazine (via CBM). “I’m just waiting to get our first draft of the script together to go, ‘Who makes sense in these roles?’ If I put the list in front of me of people that have said they want to do it, talk about a Sophie’s Choice. When you do a movie like ‘Ghostbusters,’ people get very interested.”
Feig also offered further confirmation that the new film will be a total reboot.
“I have too much respect for the original one,” he says. “There’s also the feeling that once the world knows ghosts and has seen them busted on such a large scale, they run the risk of becoming pedestrian. There’s something fun about introducing our world, which has never seen ghosts to the phenomenon of ghosts. I love origin stories and to introduce new characters.”
Tonally, Feig says that he’s aiming for something that’s both funny and truly scary, although he’s not looking to push for an R rating.
“I want ours to be scarier than the original, to be quite honest,” he continues. “Katie Dipold and I are so focused on wanting to do scary comedy. We don’t want to hold back… The reason I do a lot of R-Rated comedies is that you want a movie to feel honest. But the Ghostbusters world doesn’t need that level of swearing. We’ll have to be PG-13 with this one. I would like to make it R-Rated, but I won’t. You want the biggest number of people to watch it and not be put off by it.”
Back in September, original Ghostbusters star Bill Murray revealed his own “fan cast” for a female-driven franchise reboot, listing Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Tammy), Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Linda Cardinelli (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Mad Men”) and Emma Stone (The Help, The Amazing Spider-Man) as his top choices. Since then, Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson has revealed that she has met for a part, although no official casting has, as of yet, taken place. As always, check back for details as they become available.
