The Ghostbusters Reboot Gets Its Own Reboot: New Cast and Storyline Leaked

The new cast of Ghostbusters joins
new faces with the familiar. (Pictured:
Latifah, McCarthy, Skarsgard and Bialik)

The new Ghostbusters reboot is about to start filming - again. Filming did begin last year, but was quickly scrapped and for a while there, it looked as if the project would never come back to life.

Not so.

Sources have now confirmed a final new cast along with a great new script. All of this is wonderful news to my ears, as this reboot has seen more scramblings than a good game of musical chairs.

The sources, from a number of camps from within the project itself, have all confirmed that this is the last change, and I can see why. Usually movies grow weak and unstable when their foundations take so long to form, but in this case, its worked in the franchise's favor.

Hollywood somehow managed to get this one right, as you'll soon see, and I, for one, can't wait to see this cast in this plot in this spot-on remake (or should I say sequel?) that should make both newcomers and longtime fans happy, happy, happy.

Oh yes, there's a lot to be excited about. But since so much of this project is completely new to those of us who have been following it religiously, I've decided to break it down in pieces for you. 

Today I'm releasing the confirmed plot and cast (you'll never guess who!) and in the following weeks, I'll be releasing some of my favorite scenes from the script that really set and measure the tone of the film, without giving too much of the important stuff away. Still - I have to say it - SPOILER ALERT!

So. Are you ready? I sure am. I've been sitting on this for waaaay too long. Let's do it!

GHOSTBUSTERS

(CAST & PLOT)

My favorite confirmations: Dan Akroyd is co-directing the film. Yes. Second, Sigourney Weaver is still in. Yes yes! Third, it's still an all-female cast (almost.) Nice. But from there, everything has changed. 

Before we roll out all of the big names, let's crack open the plot first. Here is a brief synopsis of the setting and background for the film, not the crisis itself or its resolution. (Spoiler Alert!)

SETTING

The film takes place in the same New York of the original films, only now, it's present day. The Ghostbusters lived and worked in the city, just the way the original films say they did, 30 years ago. But they are no more. Twenty years ago, when the city's streets were virtually ghost-free due to their work, the original team, Peter, Ray, Winston and Egon, started branching out, taking and working contracts overseas and internationally, ghostbusting and training others to do the same in various cities and countries around the world.

Eventually the NYC branch (once known as Ghostbusters Headquarters) was shut down. The building still stands today, along with the original signage, though dusty and dirty from disrepair. The Ghostbusters are somewhat mythical legends and definitely heroes in the memories of New Yorkers. But they are definitely a thing of the past too.

Of late there have been some rumblings in the "ghosting" world. It's been twenty years since the city needed the Ghostbusters, so NY is only just starting to become aware of these rumblings. That doesn't mean they don't have anyone to call. They do. They call a small start-up guy played by Jason Statham, who has his face and name all over the city's buses and benches in loud Better Call Saul stylings.

Surprise! Jason Statham and Alexander Skarsgard will play out a
hilarious "battle of the sexy" on the sidelines.

Statham's character relies on his good looks and charm. He nonchalantly steals from the Ghostbusters of days past - with saying like "Ghost-bammers!" and his huge sparkling white grin is usually right next to his hand giving a huge thumbs up - outstretched past a big circle, a meme to the old Ghostbusters logo.

That doesn't bother Amy too much though. She just thinks he's a scam artist. Who is Amy? Why, she's the pin that holds all of this together...

The Girls

The girls are (drum roll please) the descendants of the original Ghostbusters!... though most don't even know it yet. The only one who does is Amy (played by Melissa McCarthy), Peter Venkman's daughter. She isn't involved in ghostbusting though. Not one bit. She believes Statham's character is a fraud, and that ghostbusting really is a part of the city's past, not its future.

The same goes for the other daughters, save one: Winston's daughter (played by Queen Latifah). She runs the only ghostbusting clinic in the five burroughs. A natural despite being unaware of her heritage, she has to call it "Voodoo" work to pay the bills. In reality, she's a big fan of Egon's work, having discovered it at a university book sale.

Egon's daughter, on the other hand (Mayim Bialik), runs a super lab just outside New York, with a shy, dogged assistant (Alexander Skarsgard), and believes her father traveled abroad for important work, not ghostbusting work, which she calls "total bunk." 

Finally, there's Ray's daughter, who is a stunning beauty that works in sales and does a kick ass job of it too. (That role, currently held for Kate Hudson, might also go out to Sandra Bullock, Eva Mendes, Cameron Diaz - or any of the Angels, it sounds like.)

The Family Tree

The "fathers": Egon, Winston, Peter, Raymond

Their "daughters" in the same order:
Mayim Bialik (Egon), Queen Latifah (Winston), Melissa McCarthy (Peter) and Kate Hudson (Raymond)

Of course, we don't meet each girl right away. We meet Amy first. More on that in the Storyline section coming up next.

For now, here are other characters in the works. They aren't confirmed yet - but they sound like solid gold to me. My favorites? 

• a crazy cousin (played by Sofia Vergara)
• a receptionist (played by John Oliver - "he's a great answer to Annie Potts in the original movies")
• other daughters (played by Eva Mendes), etc.

Now, I'm going to chime in here to make a personal plea.

 I really, really love the idea of more than four Ghostbusters. 

Already the poster looks to be four ladies and a tall guy (Skarsgard), and I wouldn't mind seeing Oliver in the row, or Vergara in the mix. I think that the closer you hold to the original four, the harder it is to live up to the previous movie or even become your own movie in the process.

So please, expand the pack! Have some fun with it! Right?

NOTE: We aren't told much about what specifically happened to each of the original Ghostbusters. It sounds to me like this is left open on purpose, poised for their possible returns and cameos in future sequels. Yes, please!!!

STORYLINE

So there's the background. A calm NYC with no major spirit-driven rumblings in decades and very minor ripples in recent months/years...

Enter major paranormal activity.

(No, I'm not telling you. Go see it.)

Amy doesn't think much of it until she gets a visit from Dana (Sigourney Weaver), who reminds her that her father, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), left her an envelope to open in the case of an emergency. "This is the emergency," she tells Amy, and Amy goes to a safety deposit box where she knows the envelope is kept.

Upon opening it, she finds a letter with four keys, each labeled Peter, Egon, Raymond and Winston. Originally Amy believes the keys are meant for the original men, but Dana insists she read the handwritten letter Peter left Amy in the box. The letter admits that if she's reading it, the Ghostbusters are no longer available or alive, which means it's down to her, Amy, and the three descendants of the other original Ghostbusters.

Amy never knew about these descendants, but Peter admits that they were kept from each other on purpose, to protect them and the city in case of an occurrence like this one. Peter says it's up to Amy to not only contact and connect with the three descendants of the Ghostbusters, but that they also need to reopen the Ghostbusters Headquarters and save the day. He says that the lockers will have the equipment and instructions that were unique to each of the Ghostbusters to help them carry out their father's legacy.

As Amy reads their names and contact info, she realizes that each locker key labeled Peter, Egon, Raymond and Winston, is really meant for the daughter of each of the men. It's her job to find their heirs, deliver their keys, and talk them into doing what their father's once did: 

Save the city.

Of course, that's not as easy as it sounds.

The story moves on from there:

• from gathering the women together
• opening/learning the old building headquarters
• to learning the equipment 
• dealing with and then out maneuvering Jason Statham's character in order to finally take over New York's ghostbusting business...
• to conquering the big ghost problem on New Year's Eve.

All in a days work... with plenty of room for comedy - everywhere! Again, thank God they scrapped that footage and that cast and took a chance on this instead. I can't wait to see it soon.

Enjoy and get ready for next week, when I reveal a whole lot more. Look forward to more of the character's backstories as well as some juicy details on love interests, side plots, phenomenal scenes that I just can't wait to see and more!

Email me at: hollywoodanalyst@hotmail.com