The lead cast of Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters reboot was revealed today, and it’s an all-star group including Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and current SNL superstars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. It’s been a long and confusing wait since the rumored Ghostbusters sequel turned into a reboot from Bridesmaids director Feig, so here’s a refresher on everything we know about the film so far:
- Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon, and Jones have been confirmed for the four leading roles. According to Deadline and The Wrap the four are still in negotiations, but Paul Feig tweeted a photo of all four women earlier today, which is pretty much confirmation that they’ve signed on – and that Leslie Jones is about to blow up even more than she has on SNL this season.
- The film starts shooting in New York City this summer: “To me it’s such a New York movie and the biggest sin would be to pull it out of there,†Feig told Empire earlier this month. “I just love New York and, selfishly, I just want to shoot in New York.†The film is currently slated for a July 22, 2016 release.
- Feig brought on Katie Dippold to write the script last year. Dippold has worked with Feig before on The Heat and has also written on MADtv, Parks and Recreation, and the in-the-works Heat sequel.
- Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Feig said that his reboot will be its own origin story rather than a straight followup to the original films: “I love the first one so much I don’t want to do anything to ruin the memory of that. So it just felt like, let’s just restart it because then we can have new dynamics. I want the technology to be even cooler. I want it to be really scary, and I want it to happen in our world today that hasn’t gone through it so it’s like, oh my God what’s going on?â€
- Can we expect cameos from the original Ghostbusters? Feig’s take: “So as far as I’m concerned, anybody wants to come back I welcome with open arms. It would just be in different roles now, but it would be fun to figure out how to do that.†Most likely to appear is Dan Aykroyd (who has a 10-year plan for the Ghostbusters “brandâ€), but cameos by the other two remaining Ghostbusters remain uncertain considering Ernie Hudson’s comment that the all-female reboot is a “bad idea†(unless the leading ladies are sexy) and Bill Murray’s long past of Ghostbusters sequel reluctance. Murray has since expressed an interest in the idea of an all-female reboot: “It sounds great to me. It sounds as good an idea as any other! There are a lot of women that could scare off any kind of vapor! No, it’s a grand idea, I don’t know who they’re talking about, but it’s a good idea, I would watch it! I mean, I love Robert Palmer’s videos, so why wouldn’t I love the female Ghostbusters?â€