The upcoming remake of the comedy classic Ghostbusters seems to have audiences a little torn. On one hand, remaking a film that is almost universally beloved sounds like a dangerous proposition for any filmmaker, even director Paul Feig (The Heat, Bridesmaids). On the other hand, the promise of an all-female cast could potentially spin the franchise off in an all-new direction, with different attitudes, different personalities and most importantly, the potential to rewrite conventional Hollywood paradigms that dictate, frustratingly, that women can’t headline a potential blockbuster about sci-fi supernatural investigators.
Ghostbusters is moving forward steadily, on a collision course with changing everything (if we’re lucky), and now four of the biggest elements are in place: the stars. Earlier today, Paul Feig tweeted the following lineup…
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That’s Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, both of whom have worked with Paul Feig before on Bridesmaids. (McCarthy also reunited with the filmmaker for the blockbuster buddy cop comedy The Heat.) Joining them are Kate McKinnon (Life Partners) and Leslie Jones (Top Five). McKinnon and Jones are also recent cast members of the long-running sketch comedy series “Saturday Night Live.”
Wiig and McCarthy were the whispers heard most often for the Ghostbusters cast, but it appears that both Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones beat out some other big names to make the cut. Rumored contenders for the all-female Ghostbusters included Emma Stone (Birdman), Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect), Mindy Kaling (No Strings Attached), Lizzy Caplan (The Interview) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook).
The final four are, of course, all talented comedians and actresses and we have high hopes for their work in Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters. There is no official release date for the reboot yet, but with the casting set we can expect to hear some more news very soon!
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
