With all eyes on director Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters franchise reboot coming to theaters later this year, there has not been much news about how the studio is looking to further expand the brand. There has been some rumors about a possible all-male spin-off film to counterpoint Feig’s all-female lead film, but original Ghostbusters director/producer Ivan Reitman has walked back those stories. That is changing, though, as it is being reported that Sony has hired Fletcher Moules to direct a big screen, animated installment for the franchise.
Not much of a household name among animation fans, Moules is the man behind the recent commercials for the video game Clash Of Clans. Given their light, comedic nature, I think he sounds like a good fit for the project.
This won’t be the first time that the Ghostbusters franchise goes animated. Previously there was the animated Ghostbusters spin-off, The Real Ghostbusters, which ran on television from 1986 to 1991 and featured the voices of Maurice LeMarche, Arsenio Hall (and Buster Jones), Frank Welker, and Lorenzo Music (and later, Dave Coulier) as scientists-turned-paranormal exterminators Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddemore, Ray Stantz, and Peter Venkman.
The project is being developed within Ghost Corps, the production shingle that the studio set up so Ghostbusters co-creators Reitman and Dan Aykroyd could shepherd the development of various films and other projects for the franchise.
There is no word yet as to if this film will feature the characters from Feig’s reboot film or the original “classic” Ghostbusters characters, be a continuation of the Real Ghostbusters series or something uniquely its own.
This isn’t the first time that the studio has looked to animation as a way to branch out a franchise. There is currently an animated Spider-Man film with The Lego Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller producing that is scheduled for December 2018 release.
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