‘Ghostbusters 3’ Circling around a Potential Director

The long awaited segment in the Ghostbusters series might have finally found its director. According to The Hollywood Reporter , Sony is targeting director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) as the film's lead candidate. While no formal negotiations have taken place, the source cited that Feig is the studio's first choice. Ghostbusters 3 has been plagued by re-writes and artistic differences between the original cast. While Dan Aykroyd said that production would begin in Spring of next year, and that he will indeed be in the film, Bill Murray has yet to make any sort of formal commitment. The original script for Ghostbusters 3 was penned by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (The Office, Bad Teacher) and had to be changed following the death of Harold Ramis earlier this year. The source also mentioned that Feig may use Ghostbusters 3 to reboot the franchise and recast it with female leads (perhaps with the likes of Melissa McCarthy or Kristen Wiig). Speculation could be made that the original cast would pass the torch to a new generation of Ghostbusters (perhaps daughters), to carry on the original legacy, and extend the life of the franchise. While Hollywood is in desperate need of a female-centric action movie, a screwball comedy featuring ghost hunting may not be the best avenue in which to pursue these goals. With the amount of enthusiasm and hype surrounding this film, the addition of an all-female cast might come off as a publicity stunt or a gimmick to appeal to a larger audience, further stunting the spread of gender equality in film.