Three of the four stars (sans Ernie Hudson) for the original Ghostbusters live-action movies – Harold Ramis, Billy Murray, and Dan Aykroyd – were experienced veterans of TV comedy performance, having worked on such programs as Saturday Night Live and SCTV between them. The upcoming Ghostbusters franchise reboot will continue that practice, as word has it the project may add yet another SNL cast member to the ranks of its cast.
Ghostbusters (2016) will star SNL veterans Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, while well-known (and Oscar-nominated) comedy player Melissa McCarthy will round out the main ensemble. A new report claims that Cecily Strong is being eyed for a key supporting role in the film, as director Paul Feig and screenwriter Katie Dippold (collaborators on buddy cop comedy The Heat) have reportedly designed the character with Strong in mind. Listeners of the Screen Rant Underground Podcast may recall that our Editor in Chief Kofi Outlaw even predicted this casting news.
Film Divider, in its exclusive scoop concerning Strong, cautions that it’s not yet clear if Strong has accepted the Ghostbusters role in question, but it sounds as though the role is hers if she wants it. The character is described in Film Divider‘s source article as follows:
She’s an authority figure who liaises with our heroines, privately backing their activities and acknowledging their legitimacy, but publicly denouncing the group to the media in order to avoid panic amongst the wider populous.
Here’s the (unconfirmed) character rundown for Ghostbusters (2016), along with who is potentially playing said roles:
- Erin Gabler (Wiig), a Columbia University academic.
- Abby Bergman (Jones), Erin’s former colleague who’s since turned to studying the supernatural and hunting ghosts for a living.
- Jillian (McKinnon), Abby’s ghost-hunting partner.
- Patty (McCarthy), a Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee who stumbles upon what appears to be a paranormal menace.
There are certainly parallels between the original Ghostbusters live-action films’ team and this new lineup, much as Strong’s would-be character sounds a bit like an amalgamation of the New York Mayor (David Marguiles) from previous Ghostbusters movies and Hardemeyer (Kurt Fuller) from Ghostbusters II. That’s generally the case with partial/complete reboots; they either feature the same characters played by different actors (see the upcoming Terminator: Genisys) or invent new one to serve similar functions in the story (see the upcoming Jurassic World).
Indeed, Feig has indicated that although he and Dippold want a fresh start after the past films – hence the reboot being a horror/comedy set in a modern world where ghost-hunting remains a fringe activity – the 21st century Ghostbusters movie isn’t above paying its respects to its predecessors, either. So long as those callbacks feel organic, though, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Strong, like the main cast for the Ghostbusters reboot (pictured above in a photo posted to Leslie Jones’ Twitter account) is an accomplished comedic talent – which is part of the reason why her absence from the SNL 40th anniversary special’s edition of “Weekend Update” raised more than a few eyebrows.
Indeed, everyone associated with the Ghostbusters reboot at this point has a history of working (and succeeding) in the comedy biz, be it on television and/or the big screen – something that bodes well for a project that, admittedly, has definitely split Ghostbusters fans up to now, for reasons that vary from casting to the project’s mere existence. Fingers crossed, though, the movie will turn out well and reinvigorate what is now a 31-year old property, while simultaneously introducing it to a new generation.
SEE: Why Ghostbusters is Safe (From a Fan’s Perspective)
–
Ghostbusters opens in U.S. theaters on July 22nd, 2016.
