New ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot Movie’s All-Female Lead Cast Named: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones Now in Studio Negotiations
Director and co-writer Paul Feig took to Twitter on Tuesday, January 27, to reveal his all-female leads for his upcoming Ghostbusters reboot by tweeting a photo collage showing Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Later, he also tweeted the upcoming new movie's scheduled official release date which is July 22, 2016.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, negotiations with the studio are still ongoing, but Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon and Jones are all expected to soon sign on for the project. The script for the reboot movie will be co-written by Feig with Katie Dippold, the screenwriter for his 2013 female police buddy film Heat. Feig has also previously also worked with the Wiig and McCarthy comedy tandem in 2011's Bridesmaids. Ivan Reitman, the director of the original, is producing. The reboot is expected to shoot in New York City by this summer.
According to Slash Films, the key characters in the new Ghostbusters will include Erin Gabler, an academic on the tenure track at Columbia; her former colleague and co-author Abby Bergman, who's more on the pop parapsychology side of things, and pursues ghosts for a living; Jillian, Abby's ghost hunting partner; and Patty, an MTA employee who comes across the main ghost. The site, citing a report from HitFix, surmises that Wiig could be cast as Erin, Jones as Abby, McKinnon as Jillian, and McCarthy as Patty. It also added that the primary antagonist will be a "creepy mechanical genius" while another main character will be named "Martin Heiss, a professional debunker of the supernatural who goes after the Ghostbusters after seeing their videos online."