The original Ghostbusters is a fondly remembered film. This for a good reason. It’s a fantastic movie. That love for the original lead to much apprehension however, when a reboot to the series was announced. While most of the reasons behind said apprehension were silly, the fact that somebody was going to try to recapture that lightning in a bottle was certainly a tremendous undertaking. We still have a few months before we know for sure whether this idea worked, but the first official image of the new team of Ghostbusters is now out, and one thing is for sure: they look like fucking Ghostbusters.
This image is great. We can already see who these characters are going to be based solely on the picture. Kristen Wiig, who we know will be the focus of the film, looks like she’s ready to go to work. Melissa McCarthy, who is apparently the defacto leader of the team, looks like a soldier ready to take this whole thing very seriously. Leslie Jones doesn’t actually need her proton pack to take on the ghosts, while Kate McKinnon just doesn’t give a shit. Each character has a distinct personality shining through the picture. We can’t wait to see these four take on the supernatural.
While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the new Ghostbusters team together, even suited up, it is the first "official" look. We’ve seen the actresses before looking like Ghostbusters, but this is the first time we’re getting a look at the characters they’ll be playing.
The other thing that the image seems to imply is that these characters are not simply analogs for their predecessors. Nobody here looks like they’re playing a version of the previous team. Each character looks unique to this film. This is a good thing. If they try to simply make the first Ghostbusters again, they will almost certainly fail. This movie needs to be its own thing, with its own characters.
We know just short of nothing about what the actual story will be in the new Ghostbusters. The story will apparently focus on Wiig and McCarthy as friends who pen a book about the supernatural together. When the book is rediscovered several years later, Wiig’s character will leave her respected teaching position in disgrace. This leads the two friends back together, and busting ghosts. How the other two characters fit in is not clear yet.
So what do you think? Do they look like Ghostbusters to you? They will be supported by the original cast, several of whom will have cameos in the new movie. We’ll finally see how good this crew is at busting ghosts next summer.
