Paul Feig’s ‘Ghostbusters’ Will Probably Bust More Ghosts in a Sequel
When Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters hit theaters over the weekend, a couple of things happened: It did fairly well at the box office — landing in second place just below The Secret Life of Pets — and no one’s childhood was destroyed. A $46 million opening isn’t mind-blowing, but it looks like it will be enough to justify a sequel to the reboot. The big question now is whether or not Feig and the whole cast will return for it.
Sony’s president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer told The Wrap that “While nothing has been officially announced yet, there’s no doubt” that a sequel is on the way, adding that the new Ghostbusters will “become an important brand and franchise.” As to whether that means a direct sequel with Feig & Co. or a different film is not immediately clear. There was another project for which Sony was reportedly eyeing Chris Pratt and Channing Tatum, with Joe and Anthony Russo set to direct. But back in May, the directing duo revealed that their project was officially dead.
The new reboot stars Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, the latter of whom proved to be the reboot’s MVP. McCarthy recently said that she’s down to return for multiple sequels, and if Sony is planning a new franchise, that could very well happen. Although Ghostbusters performed well at the box office and has received a large number of positive reviews, the studio may need to fine-tune their approach for a future installment — Feig’s film was fun, but mostly fine. It just felt too safe, from the basic jokes to the simplistic character development (of which there was little).
But now that the reboot is a hit, perhaps Feig co-writer Katie Dippold could have a little more freedom and take more risks with the sequel…if they return.