Entertainment

Is An All-Male 'Ghostbusters' Reboot Happening?

by Maitri Suhas

If you were afraid you wouldn't have enough Ghostbusters reboot in your life with Paul Feig's all-female Ghostbusters film on the way, don't worry: there's a lot more Ghostbusters where that came from. As MTV News reported on Wednesday, that Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation writer Drew Pearce is claiming than an all-male Ghostbusters reboot might be happening, and that he's finished work on it. Specifically, he said at the premiere of Mission Impossible Rogue Nation: "I’ve finished my work on [Ghostbusters] in the last couple weeks. Obviously it’s top secret."

Look, I get that the initial reaction to this could be one of skepticism, especially considering an all-female, awesome-sounding Ghostbusters reboot is already on the way. But, stick with me here — this second reboot Pearce speaks of could be a good thing, not only because Pearce is reportedly working on the project with the Russo brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), but also because he's already being asked the right questions: Like, if a dude-busters movie will take the attention away from Feig's female-busters. Pearce said that he hopes the stories will all take place in tandem:

My personal inclination is to try and make everything occur in the same Ghostbusters universe, because I feel, as a fan, that’s what I would want. Standing here in New York, you just wanna tie it all together. Whether that happens or not we’ll see, but I’ve certainly given them the tools to do that, I hope.

Now that he's said that, hopefully, critics and fans alike in the audience will make sure to hold him and his team accountable for making this possible film progressive as can be. After all — the project, if it happens, has a lot to live up to: there's going to be way more direct comparison between Pearce's film and the original, especially when it comes to casting. How can anyone beat the awesome that is Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis? (For what it's worth, Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt are reportedly being eyed as leads.)

If Pearce's version is successful, maybe that means somewhere, someday, the new men and women of the respective 'Busters could meet up. I'm all for sequels, as long as the ladies get a piece of the action.

And I must concede, the possible team so far is not looking shabby. Pearce has experience with splashy, big-budget films; he wrote Iron Man 3 and the screenplay for the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie. Of the project, Pearce continued, according to MTV News:

There’s a gigantic bold idea that I came up with, and the Russo brothers — who did Captain America: The Winter Soldier and are doing Civil War at the moment — and Ivan Reitman, who did the original movie, are going to take that and run with it. Obviously I cannot tell you what it is, but hopefully in one year’s time you’ll know!

The Russo brothers are probably most famous for their work directing Arrested Development, and for that, I must be grateful to them. Also, having the original director on board could help the film steer in the right direction. For now, I'll reserve my judgment until this film actually comes to fruition — and, judging by how this all sounds, perhaps everyone else should too.

Images: Columbia Pictures, Giphy