Sony announces all-male ‘Ghostbusters’ as counterpart to the upcoming female cast reboot

Sony has announced an all-male ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot to be released as a counterpart to Paul Feig’s lady-driven adaptation, in the name of equality, I guess? Or, alternatively, it could be in the name of grasping for film franchise straws. You see, a reboot starring a squad of ghost-busting leading ladies is not enough; Sony seems intent on turning Ghostbusters into a full-on, Marvel-esque world. And the second piece in that puzzle will apparently involve bring the series back to its dude-drive roots.

There isn’t a ton of solid, reliable info available about the guy-centric version just yet, but here’s what we do know: It might be directed by the Russo Brothers (of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Community), but it might not. It might star Channing Tatum, but it might not. And Iron Man 3 screenwriter Drew Pearce, seems to actually be working on the script (but given the question marks around everything else involving the film, including why it’s happening at all, who knows?).

“It’s just the beginning of what I hope will be a lot of wonderful movies,” Ivan Reitman, who directed the original movie, told Deadline.

While it’s not so unfathomable that Sony would want to latch onto any potential franchises it has (especially in light of what’s going down in the world of Spider-Man), it is an odd announcement. The all-female Ghostbusters film, which has garnered tons of amazing press and advance buzz, doesn’t even go into production until June and already the cogs are in motion for a male-driven sequel (companion? Counterpart? There’s a lot of weird and confusing terminology happening with this announcement). It’s also hard to ignore the not-so-good feeling in the pit of your stomach when you read the headlines about the latest Ghostbusters development, which feels a little like Sony giving in to the subset of fans who were vocally upset about the decision to let girls into the club. As hilariously charming a Ghostbuster as Channing Tatum might make, it’s a bummer that the excitement of an ensemble of women leading an action-comedy might be overshadowed before the film is even released by this news.