Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters reboot is poised to completely redefine the spooky franchise. Drafting in an all-female cast and a new story, it will include several subtle nods to the original series, but for the most part it’s expected to emerge as a standalone movie. Now, in addition to those cheeky winks, it seems Feig’s enjoyment of a certain undead serial may also play an influential role.
During his appearance on the cleverly titled The Talking Dead (via Screen Crush) – a companion show to AMC’s popular zombie drama, The Walking Dead – Feig brought up the affect that the series has had on his creative process:
“I will say, I was very inspired by this show. What I love is how they play with the danger, they play with the scariness, but also the idea that it’s always about gauntlet run. And that’s something; an element I want to bring to this Ghostbusters reboot is having to get through these various obstacles that are supernatural and all that. I really feed off of The Walking Dead.”
Of course, don’t take his comments literally. While Feig is open to rebranding the franchise, it’s unlikely that Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones will be racing around New York pursuing a tide of walkers. More importantly, it offers some idea of the tone and experience that the quartet may face for their upcoming adventure.
The Walking Dead‘s continued stronghold on audiences is largely down to its combination of character and situation. Placing the show’s heroes into dangerous scenarios has seen its ratings climb higher with every season, which just goes to show viewers quite like watching people we care about enter incredibly tense, life-threatening dilemmas. For the newly-enrolled Ghostbusters, it’ll be exciting to see how they manage to navigate through a whole host of supernatural situations while making do with the funny.