Large scale shared universes are all the rage in Hollywood, and it's not just comic book movies getting in on the fad. In recent months we've heard of properties like King Arthur and Universal Monsters making their own franchises with expanded continuity, and now it seems that Ghostbusters is getting in on the fun. Well, if new reports can be believed anyway.
In response to the scoop this afternoon about the brand new Ghostbusters film that will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Badass Digest has published a report of their own, and it includes news that as many as four linked Ghostbusters moves are currently in the works at Sony Pictures. The plan is that Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot, which is due out next year, will launch a shared fictional universe (akin to 2008's Iron Man), and the newly announced Russo brothers project will wind up being a part of it. It's from that point that things get interesting.
Should Sony find success with both the Feig-directed Ghostbusters and the Russos' Ghost Corps (to which it's been referred), the idea from there would be that the casts of both movies would team up "Avengers-style." This would mean seeing Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones possibly joining together with Channing Tatum (who is loosely attached to Ghost Corps) and Chris Pratt (who has been rumored for a part in the movie). If the sources of this new report can be believed, this idea has been in the works for a good amount of time now.
After the Avengers of Ghostbusters movies, the report then says that the franchise will actually go back in time a bit and release a prequel that will be set in the years before the three previously told stories. Despite what you might be hoping for, this project will not center around the likes of Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore, though what it will be about is not entirely clear at this point. It's also not really known why the franchise would choose this point in time to tell a period story, but perhaps it has something to do with the way the rumored team-up movie ends.
Until any of this is actually confirmed by Sony Pictures or the filmmakers/talent involved, this is really all just rumor - but it's still pretty interesting to think about. Hopefully a clearer picture will be painted as we get closer to the start of production on Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot, and if not, at the very least we'll have a better idea of what's going on when the film is released on July 22, 2016. In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates!
