Paul Feig Explains Why His Ghostbusters Movie Is a Reboot

When people aren’t too busy whining that Paul Feig stole their ice cream childhoods by putting women in a Ghostbusters movie, the other common complaint hurled at “Ghostbusters 3” is that it’s a reboot instead of a continuation of the same world set up by the original movies. Reboot hate is running high right now with understandable reasons, but Feig still thinks it’s the right move for this particular project.

On the Empire Film Podcast, Feig said (via Empire Online),

A lot of people are mad because it’s a reboot. But I don’t know how to do it any other way, because it’s been 25 years since the last one. Harold has gone, Bill doesn’t want to do it, and I love Dan and Ernie, but people had written those scripts and they were fine, but it felt sweaty to me, it felt like a wheel was off the cart. I thought, ‘Why don’t we go into this and reinvent it so we can go into a world that doesn’t have ghosts?’

I love origin stories. I want to see them come up with the tech. I want to see them seeing a ghost for the first time, as opposed to ‘Oh yeah, all those years ago there was a ghost attack on New York…’ Just for me it was hard.

And he knew it would be hard, as he previously said that he’d feel terrible if he ruined a Ghostbusters movie and asked fans to wait to judge until they saw the finished product. “It’s always a risk, but every movie you make is a risk. This one just happens to be one that’s toying with everyone’s childhoods!” He also said on the podcast.

But even with the difficult call to do a reboot and the high stakes he’s placed on it, Feig is still as pumped about the movie as we are. He said, “I’m excited. Those four ladies I have starring in it are so funny and that’s half the battle. I’m going to battle with the best army I have.”

You can listen to the podcast for yourself below with much more from Paul Feig starting right around the one-hour mark:

(via Empire Online)

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