Channing Tatum Proposed A ‘Ghostbusters’ Spinoff With Chris Pratt
Even as Sony sets up plans for itsGhostbustersreboot, it may have an eye on aGhostbustersspinoff. Leaked emails from the Sony hack revealChanning Tatumwants to team withJoeandAnthony Russo(ofCaptain America: The Winter Soldier) for a newGhostbustersmovie, in which Tatum would star withChris Pratt. According to Tatum, it’ll be like “a HUGE BATMAN BEGINS MOVIE” in terms of “epicness.”
More on the possible Channing Tatum Chris PrattGhostbustersproject after the jump.
The Daily Beastreported on the potential Channing Tatum Chris PrattGhostbustersproject. Back in August, Tatum wrote to Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairmanAmy Pascalproposing aGhostbusterspic: “Let us show the world The DarkSide and let us fight it with all the glory and epicness of a HUGE BATMAN BEGINS MOVIE. I know we can make this a huge franchise. Fun adventure craziness. COME OONNNN!!!”
A later email to Pascal fromHannah Minghella, co-president of production for Columbia Pictures, described Tatum’s plan in more detail. “So… in a curious turn of events – the Russos and Channing want to develop Ghostbusters as a vehicle for Channing and Chris Pratt to do together,” she wrote.
The Russos, Channing and Reid have been brainstorming ideas and want to create a whole new mythology that would support multiple movies (the way that Nolan reinvented Batman). To be clear – the Russos want to produce (not direct) and while Channing and Chris are looking for a movie to do together they haven’t mentioned this to him yet because they weren’t sure how we’d react.
(The “Reid” mentioned in that message is presumablyReid Carolin, Tatum’s partner.)
Minghella continues:
They want to make it simultaneously super scary while also super funny. They love the idea that they are mortal heroes who are believers in the paranormal and the only people who can defend mankind from a paranormal threat. I know we’re mid negotiations with Paul [Feig]. I’m not sure whether we’d ever develop two different versions simultaneously. Joe Russo is open to the idea that both movies could be developed in partnership so they compliment one another within the same Ghostbusters universe. Apparently the Russos are very close to Paul and Joe suggested Paul could be attached to direct both. Personally I think it’s possible for the female version to co-exist with this other version so maybe they’re not mutually exclusive.
A Tatum / PrattGhostbustersspinoff directed byPaul Feigand produced by the Russo brothers would definitely get some attention. On the other hand, it may be a bit premature to start planning a spinoff when the reboot isn’t even off the ground yet. The powers that be at the studio reportedly seemed interested, but as of now we don’t know what Sony has decided to do.
Tatum and Pratt previously starred together in10 Years, a high school reunion film released in 2011. Since then, Tatum has moved up to the next level with films like21 Jump Street,Magic Mike, andFoxcatcher. Pratt, meanwhile, broke out in a huge way this year withThe Lego MovieandGuardians of the Galaxy, and will star net year inJurassic World.
The Feig-directedGhostbustersreboot — the one that Sony has already announced — has been surrounded by a swirl of casting rumors in recent days.Rebel WilsonandJennifer Lawrencehave confirmed they’ve spoken with Feig, and other emails from the Sony hack indicateEmma Stone,Melissa McCarthy,Amy Schumer,Lizzy Caplan, andRyan Goslinghave expressed their interest as well.
It’s expected to be a total reboot of the original property, though Pascal has told original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman she wants to find"a clever way"to connect the old and new Ghostbusters movies.
