Bridesmaids actresses Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig have joined Saturday Night Live comedians Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones to replace the initial ghoul-eliminating team consisting of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. As a result, Ghostbusters is promoting an all-female cast for the remake.
Ivan Reitman, director of the original film series, shall look over the remaking duties, while Paul Feig has been handed over the directing responsibilities.
As revealed in the trailer, Feig explained the all-female aspect of the film saying: “I just want the funniest people, and the funniest people I happen to know are these women. It should never be about (their) gender. Ghostbusters is for everybody.”
He added: “When I see pictures of young girls making Ghostbusters costumes, it chokes me up. I just like the idea that a new generation will have their own story that they will love as much as the original guys.”
Reitman responded: “I’ve often talked about the moment I saw the original quartet walk down Madison Avenue for the first time on the first day of shooting. There was a tingle in my back and I really got the same feeling when I saw these four women.”
“There was no issue of gender, it was really an ‘Oh my God, there is something unique about these four together’ moment.”
For the fans of the original series, the theme song has been confirmed to remain intact. “You will hear the song – you can’t do it without it,” added Feig. “We are playing with the original and some new versions.”
The movie is set to be released in the UK on July 15.