A new “Ghostbusters” film has been announced by director Jason Reitman (“Juno,” “Up In The Air”), son of Ivan Reitman, the original director and producer, and its immediate dismissal of the all-female 2016 reboot (“Ghostbusters”) has already ruffled many feathers online.
READ MORE: ‘Ghostbusters’ Lives: Jason Reitman To Direct New Film Set In The Original Universe
And comedian Leslie Jones, who played Ghostbuster Patty Tolan in director Paul Feig’s 2016 version of “Ghostbusters,” is not having it.
“So insulting,” she wrote in a tweet in response to a fan asking Jason Reitman on Twitter whether he’d bring back Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon to his new film, a veritable “Ghostbusters 3.” “Like fuck us. We dint count. It’s like something Trump would do. (Trump voice)”Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers” ugh so annoying. Such a dick move. And I don’t give fuck I’m saying something!!” Jones was so upset she tweeted the response three times to different users asking questions about the film.
READ MORE: ‘Ghostbusters’ Sequel Unlikely As Film Looks Poised To Post $70 Million Loss
While the original surviving “Ghostbusters,” Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson are expected to return and make appearances (Harold Ramis passed away in 2014)—at least, according to Hudson—and the film is said to be a direct continuation of the timeline last left off in “Ghostbusters 2,” including the 2016 version would be tricky. That version, directed by Paul Feig, essentially lives in an alternate timeline and isn’t a direct sequel to the original classic films.
READ MORE: The 40 Best ‘Ghostbusters’ Characters Ranked
Upon officially revealing the new “Ghostbusters” project, Reitman immediately said, his new version would discount that film. “I have so much respect for what Paul [Feig] created with those brilliant actresses, and would love to see more stories from them. However, this new movie will follow the trajectory of the original film,” he said.
That’s not to say given the way movies continually reboot, reimagine and re-envision themselves, they couldn’t include those female comedians, but apparently, that decision has already been made (and more importantly, a script written).
The new “Ghostbusters” film is reportedly going to take its cues from “Stranger Things,” ironically, a show that was heavily influenced by the original “Ghostbusters” films. Reitman’s version is rumored to feature a female lead, ala Millie Bobbie Brown’s Eleven, and a cast of young teens rumored to be in the 11-14 year-range of the “Stranger Things” cast. The trades have already revealed the main new cast of “Ghostbusters” will be two boys and two girls, and some unverified cast descriptions already have some fans speculating that one of the girls will be related to the Egon Spengler (possibly his daughter) as a way to honor the late Harold Ramis.
READ MORE: ‘Ghostbusters’ And The Post-Truth Politics Of 2016 Blockbuster Culture
We’ll likely find out soon enough. The new “Ghostbusters” film was developed in secret, is ready to go and will shoot this summer (it even has a teaser trailer already). Between now and then, we’ll likely hear one of the Reitmans address Jones’ (and many other fans’) concerns. “Ghostbusters 3” or whatever it is ultimately called shoots this summer and is scheduled for a summer 2020 release. The 2016 version of “Ghostbusters” was reported to have lost over $70 million for Sony in the fall of that year and opened up the floodgates of toxic misogynist fandom that is well-explored in this piece, ‘Ghostbusters’ And The Post-Truth Politics Of 2016 Blockbuster Culture.
So insulting. Like fuck us. We dint count. It’s like something trump would do. (Trump voice)”Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers” ugh so annoying. Such a dick move. And I don’t give fuck I’m saying something!!
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) January 19, 2019
So insulting. Like fuck us. We dint count. It’s like something trump would do. (Trump voice)”Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers” ugh so annoying. Such a dick move. And I don’t give fuck I’m saying something!!
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) January 19, 2019
So insulting. Like fuck us. We dint count. It’s like something trump would do. (Trump voice)”Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers” ugh so annoying. Such a dick move. And I don’t give fuck I’m saying something!!
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) January 19, 2019
