Paul Feig Promises New Ghostbusters Reboot Will be 'Scarier Than the Original'
Paul Feig wants you to know that the beloved Ghostbusters franchise is in good hands.
The director of Bridesmaids and The Heat announced in October that he plans to reboot the 1984 paranormal comedy, using an all-female cast to replace original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, the late Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson. In the new issue of Empire, Feig says he and screenwriter Katie Dippold (The Heat) plan on mixing in more horror with the humor.
“I want ours to be scarier than the original, to be quite honest,” he said. “Katie Dippold and I are so focused on wanting to do scary comedy. We don’t want to hold back.”
That echoes what he told EW back in October about his vision for the reboot. “I think funny people in peril and in danger is one of the best forms of comedy,” Feig said, “and I really like things to play very real while funny things are happening.”
Related: Even Paul Feig Loves This Homemade ‘Ghostbusters’ Trailer Starring Middle School Girls
While he’d love to make the film an R-rated affair, Feig says that studio considerations — they’d like as many people to see it as possible — means that he and Dippold’s Ghostbusters will have to comply with the MPAA’s standards for a PG-13. That means keeping the language relatively clean (which certainly wasn’t the case in The Heat or Bridesmaids). But the director figures that “the Ghostbusters world doesn’t need that level of swearing,” anyway.
As for those that might suggest that Feig, a man who has directed two of the most successful female-led comedies of all time, is staffing his Ghostbusters with women, well, the filmmaker ain’t afraid of no cynics.
“A lot of people accused it of being a gimmick,” Feig explained. “But for me, I just love working with funny women. People said, ‘Why don’t you do a mix?’ I’m just more interested in the idea of lady Ghostbusters. It’s the way my brain works.”
That said, Feig promises the new film will have a tasteful title. ”It won’t be called Lady Ghostbusters! Certainly not,” he insisted. “Ghostbustieres is the way to go.” He was joking — we hope.
