Update: Sony has confirmed the film will open on July 22nd, 2016.
With no more than the promise of a fresh angle, Paul Feig has done the impossible: made us at least a little bit interested in a Ghostbusters reboot. Speculation on casting has been high since the Bridesmaids director was, in August, revealed to be at work on an all-female version of the comedy franchise; today, he used Twitter to announce the involvement of Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy (duh), Kate McKinnon (Life Partners, Saturday Night Live), and Leslie Jones (Top Five, Saturday Night Live).
Most else about the endeavor is a secret, save for Feig’s promise of a hard reboot that exists separate from whatever continuity’s been established by prior films / comics / TV series / video games / collectible pogs / etc. HitFix do, however, know a certain amount, telling us two protagonists are Erin Gabler and Abby Bergman, former colleagues who “co-wrote a book about the paranormal together, then went in different directions. Erin works for Columbia, and she’s getting close to tenure, while Abby is more involved in the pursuit of ghosts, with a new partner named Jillian.” The work being conducted Katie Dippold, scribe on The Heat, is, in his own words, an opportunity to establish “new dynamics” — ideally in a general, overarching sense, and not merely in relation to the staid conventions of a more-or-less-dead franchise. One hopes that, with a unique opportunity and fine quartet of players, this one doesn’t go bust. Again: that’s already more than we can say for almost any possible iteration of yet another Ghostbusters film.
Any thoughts on Feig’s cast? Does the project sound like it’s heading in a good direction?