Ghostbusters gets an all-male comeback

Few movies have received such a controversial response as the recent all-female Ghostbusters. So it’s surprising to find that plans are already underway to follow this with an all-male reboot of the supernatural comedy hit.

Recent reports have stated that Sony are looking to make a new Ghostbusters production company called Ghost Corps who will oversee the production of the all-male movie.

This has already got Anthony and Joe Russo in line to direct after their success with Captain America, and with heavyweight actors like Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt being lined up for the lead roles, it could mark a real effort to make Ghostbusters a fully modern media franchise.

The idea has apparently been around for a few years with Dan Aykroyd keen to make the brand successfully branch out into areas beyond the movie screen such as TV series, online games and merchandising.

Ghostbusters has already made many moves into diversifying the brand’s appeal with a cult animated TV series in the 1980s and acclaimed console games for the PlayStation and Xbox. And even Coral has cemented its reputation as being the best online casino in the UK by having a Ghostbusters-themed slots game bearing the faces of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore.

But with the all-female Ghostbusters receiving a backlash that once again revealed the ugly side of the internet, it’s clear that the all-male spin-off is going to have to tread pretty carefully.

Although a large proportion of the criticism that 2016’s Ghostbusters received was certainly focused on gender, it’s also questionable whether the likes of Tatum and Pratt will be able to match the formidable comic firepower of original stars Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.

Shooting for the next Ghostbusters movie was meant to have begun earlier this summer, but since the firestorm surrounding the all-female Ghostbusters, things have gotten a little quiet.

However, Sony’s distribution chief, Rory Bruer, is on record as stating that a sequel will happen. And such plans will be helped by the fact that many critics have slowly started realising that 2016’s Ghostbusters was actually a pretty good movie that was unfortunately drowned out by the more socially backward members of the cinema-going public.

So although 2016 saw Ghostbusters becoming a deeply divisive movie as well as a success in the UK online casinos, it looks like we can expect a return of this supernatural hit at some point in the near future.