Paul Feig Defends Jason Reitman After His Controversial Ghostbusters Comments

Sony’s clearly hoping that their upcoming Ghostbusters sequel will course-correct the franchise after the 2016 remake didn’t do the business they were thinking it would. However, you can’t please everyone, and some are seeing the new film as the studio backing down to the sexist reaction to the previous female-led movie. Director Jason Reitman didn’t help matters either when he promised that his effort would be for the fans, which some interpreted as a dig at the reboot.

Reitman’s since clarified his comments though, making it clear that he’s a big fan of the remake starring Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones. To prove that his apology’s genuine, Paul Feig (who helmed 2016’s Ghostbusters) has leapt to his defense, taking to Twitter to speak about how Reitman was a big supporter of his take on the franchise and “a true gentleman.”

Jason was a supporter of mine at a time when I couldn’t get movies made. He has always been a true gentleman to me and a supporter of Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. I can’t wait to see his take on the Ghostbusters universe. Big love and respect to you, Jason. Your fan, Paul https://t.co/2I9sqmrgTl

— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) February 21, 2019

It’s good to hear that there’s no bad blood between the two filmmakers of this decade’s Ghostbusters movies. In fact, it sounds like Feig and Reitman might be a rare pair from the different factions of the franchise that actually get along. After all, Dan Aykroyd’s been openly critical of Feig’s direction on the reboot while Leslie Jones previously hit back at the announcement of Reitman’s movie.

For his part, Reitman seems to be genuinely making a film that he wants to be “a love letter” to his father Ivan’s original 1980s classic rather than one that’s made to sneer at the failure of Feig’s effort. In fact, it’ll have a similarly fresh take on the team of heroes who ain’t afraid of no ghost. Just as the reboot reimagined the ‘busters as all-female, the legacy sequel will be about a group of kids who take on the mantle.

Character breakdowns have already revealed what we can expect from the next generation, while Ernie Hudson has also teased that he’s had talks about reprising his role alongside the other OG Busters. Whether that’ll happen or not remains to be seen, but what you might call Ghostbusters 3 begins filming this June before its cinematic release on July 10th, 2020, so expect to learn more soon.