Plans for a third Ghostbusters movie have been in the works for years now, but the project appears to be edging closer to actually happening with the news that the studio has both a director in mind and some big plans for changing up the franchise’s status quo.
Over the weekend, The Hollywood Reporter indicated that Bridesmaids director Paul Feig is the current frontrunner to direct a new film that will serve as a reboot of the supernatural comedy franchise. The report also indicated that the project would introduce an entirely new, all-female team of paranormal investigators.
Feig is probably best known for directing the highly successful, female-led 2011 comedy Bridesmaids, as well as the 2013 action-comedy The Heat. Both of these films — as well as his upcoming film Spy — feature actress Melissa McCarthy in a leading role, which makes her a likely member of any all-female Ghostbusters team that the filmmaker assembles. Franchise veteran Dan Aykroyd is expected to have a role in the film, with members of the old cast passing the torch to the new team.
While there hasn’t been any formal negotiations with Feig at this point, the report suggests that he’s the studio’s first choice for the project. Previously, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 director Ivan Reitman was attached to direct the third installment of the franchise, but he left the project in March.
The original script for the film was penned by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, who co-wrote 2009’s Year One and 2011’s Bad Teacher, but that script has been heavily revised due to the shifting plans for the project and the availability of the former franchise cast. Original franchise cast member Harold Ramis died earlier this year, and Bill Murray has yet to confirm that he’d participate in the film.
