THAT’S RIGHT BOYS…IT’S DR. VENKMAN!
Article by Adam Mast
{Spoilers Ahead!}
And…the GHOSTBUSTERS plot thickens. The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Bill Murray is going to make an appearance in Paul Feig’s upcoming GHOSTBUSTERS reboot, slated for July, 2016.
Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, this doesn’t mean that we’re going to see Peter Venkman on the big screen next summer. Feig has been very clear that this isn’t a sequel, so it’s more likely that Murray will appear in the film as an entirely new character, and quite frankly, I love this idea!
GHOSTBUSTERS II came out way back in 1989 and in the years since, a potential third entry–shepherded by Dan Aykroyd– has languished in development hell. After Harold Ramis’ unfortunate passing, Ivan Reitman’s decision to not direct a third movie, and Murray’s continued reluctance to take part in the project unless he was convinced the script was truly something special, talk of a GHOSTBUSTERS 3 had greatly subsided.
But then, an interesting concept came to surface. Director Paul Feig (BRIDESMAIDS, THE HEAT, SPY) approached Sony Pictures and proposed a GHOSTBUSTERS reboot that would feature women sporting the proton packs. Sony and Reitman both loved the idea, and eventually, the project was greenlit.
It wasn’t long before Feig had a script, and shortly after, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon were in place to headline the movie, with supporting players Chris Hemsworth, Andy Garcia, and Rod Corddry also in tow.
Back to Bill Murray.
The iconic funny man popped up on David Letterman’s show several months ago before Feig’s movie was officially a go and revealed that he thought the idea of an all female GHOSTBUSTERS movie sounded great! He even dropped names of a couple of women he’d love to see kicking paranormal ass. Two of those names were…SURPRISE… Kirsten Wiig and Melissa McCarthy! Still, Murray was–as usual– evasive when asked if he’d be willing to be a part of a future GHOSTBUSTERS movie.
What a difference a few months makes because it looks like it’s a done deal. The question remains, who exactly will Murray be playing in the reboot? Devin Faraci over at birthmoviesdeath.com is banking on a Ghostbuster buster named Martin Heis. According to Faraci, this character was written specifically with Murray in mind and spends his time in the script debunking paranormal theories and setting out to prove that the Ghostbusters are frauds. If this is true, it sounds like Murray would be playing a character reminiscent of William Atherton’s Walter Peck in the original GHOSTBUSTERS. Ummm…Yes please!
Whoever Murray is playing in Feig’s GHOSTBUSTERS is purely speculative at this point but having him on board as a foe of sorts–or any other character for that matter– is a wildly spectacular idea and I’m behind it 100%!
For quite sometime, the snobby fanboy in me had been dead set against a new GHOSTBUSTERS movie in any shape or form but the more I’m hearing about what Feig is doing, the more exited I’m getting. With BRIDESMAIDS, THE HEAT, and SPY firmly tucked under his belt, this terrific filmmaker is 3 for 3, and I truly believe his take on GHOSTBUSTERS will make it 4 for 4.
We’ll find out on July 15th, 2016!
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