Taking today’s development into account, it seems as though that kernel of an idea – which was shot down in December as mere rumor – continued to push forward following the leak. Now rolled into a whole new series of movies, Reitman and Aykroyd’s ambitions for Ghost Corps are to create a fresh Ghostbusters cinematic universe, with this untitled feature aiming at a summer 2016 shoot after the Russos complete work on Civil War.
Director of the 1984 original feature and the 1989 sequel, Reitman told Deadline the plans for this re-imagined Ghostie universe:
“We want to expand the Ghostbusters universe in ways that will include different films, TV shows, merchandise, all things that are part of modern filmed entertainment. This is a branded entertainment, a scary supernatural premise mixed with comedy. Paul Feig’s film will be the first version of that, shooting in June to come out in July 2016. He’s got four of the funniest women in the world, and there will be other surprises to come.
The second film has a wonderful idea that builds on that. Drew will start writing and the hope is to be ready for the Russo Brothers’ next window next summer to shoot, with the movie coming out the following hear. It’s just the beginning of what I hope will be a lot of wonderful movies.”
My primary focus will be to build the Ghostbusters into the universe it always promised it might become. The original film is beloved, as is the cast, and we hope to create films we will continue to love.”
The prospect of yet another gigantic diegetic movie universe is not altogether unsurprising. Marvel Studios shepherded in a new method of movie making with their vast interconnected universe, which brought subtle nods and explicit references to huge audiences. And, let’s face it, the days of hunting down sly in-jokes between movies that might be related is over. The majority of major movie studios are shifting to a mode of production wherein everything is branded for a built-in audience. What will this spell for Ghostbusters? A whole stream of sequels, it looks like.
