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HOLLYWOOD — Paul Feig confirmed rumors Wednesday that a new “Ghostbusters” film is in the works.
“It's official. I'm making a new Ghostbusters & writing it with @katiedippold & yes, it will star hilarious women. That's who I'm gonna call,” he wrote on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
“But I was like, I don’t know if I want to take that on because the first two are such classics and just because of how do you do it? Who do you bring in now that Harold’s gone? I know that Bill didn’t want to do it and I love Dan, but it was just like I don’t know how to do it,” he said.
Feig said the movie would make some nods to the previous films, but not “be bound” by it. He is co-writing the script with Katie Dippold, who previously worked on “The Heat” with him.
Rumors about the female-led team of Ghostbusters began in August, with franchise favorite Bill Murray weighing in on who he would like to see star in the film.
“It sounds great to me. It sounds as good an idea as any other,” Murray said of an all-female Ghostbusters movie in September. “There are a lot of women that could scare off any kind of vapor. No, it’s a grand idea, I don’t know who they’re talking about, but it’s a good idea, I would watch it. I mean, I love Robert Palmer’s videos, so why wouldn’t I love the female Ghostbusters?”
Murray suggested Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Linda Cardellini — all three have worked with Feig on previous film projects — and Emma Stone, who Murray co-starred with in “Zombieland.”
Some on Twitter have called the idea of casting women in the roles of the ghost-catching crew a gimmick, according to CNN.
Feig disagrees.
“Interesting how making a movie with men in the lead roles is normal but making a movie with women in the lead roles is a 'gimmick,' ” he said.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the writer and director talked more about the concept and his previous work with women.
“My favorite thing to do is work with funny women. I was like, what if it was an all female cast? If they were all women? Suddenly, my mind kind of exploded: that would be really fun,” he said.
