Sony Plans ‘Ghostbusters’ Cinematic Universe | CNN

Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones will star in the new "Ghostbusters." What's the original cast up to? Click through the gallery to find out.

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It's been 30 years since the "Ghostbusters" first suited up, strapped on their proton packs and changed pop culture with comedy, special effects and an irresistible theme song.

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As the charming Dr. Peter Venkman, Bill Murray could do no wrong in the eyes of the audience. Not much has changed since then. Most recently Murray acted in "Monuments Men" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel," and this fall stars in the buzzworthy "St. Vincent." In 2015, he'll provide voice work in a movie that would make Venkman proud: the animated comedy "B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations."

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"Ghostbusters" was the brainchild of "Saturday Night Live" veteran Dan Aykroyd, who has a thing for ghosts. The writer/actor/producer, who played Dr. Raymond Stantz, most recently starred in the 2014 James Brown biopic, "Get on Up."

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Harold Ramis was at the heart of the success of "Ghostbusters" -- as both the co-writer and the lovable nerd Dr. Egon Spengler. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/showbiz/movies/obit-harold-ramis/" target="_blank">Ramis died in February 2014</a>, but the legacy of his work lives on: from "Caddyshack" to "Stripes" to Egon's perennial safety tip ("Don't cross the streams!").

Harold Ramis was at the heart of the success of "Ghostbusters" -- as both the co-writer and the lovable nerd Dr. Egon Spengler. Ramis died in February 2014, but the legacy of his work lives on: from "Caddyshack" to "Stripes" to Egon's perennial safety tip ("Don't cross the streams!").

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As the fourth addition to the "Ghostbusters" team, Ernie Hudson provided the everyman comic relief. Since "Ghostbusters," Hudson has bounced between movies and TV, including a stint on the well-received HBO series "Oz." Yet he still has a soft spot for Winston Zeddemore; if a third "Ghostbusters" ever happens, he sees himself as "the C.E.O. of the Ghostbusters franchise."

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No one could pull off being possessed while in full '80s glam like Sigourney Weaver. Her Dana Barrett was equal parts alluring and hilariously scary. These days, Weaver is devoting her talents to another huge franchise: She's at work on the sequel to 2009's "Avatar," due out in December 2016.

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Louis Tully was also a demonic force to be reckoned with, but you couldn't help but feel badly for the guy with Rick Moranis playing him. After creating more family-friendly fare with the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" franchise and "The Flintstones," Moranis decided to retire from on-screen acting in 1997 to be a stay-at-home dad after his wife's death.

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Annie Potts' Janine Melnitz may not have fought the ghosts like her employers did, but the secretary was just as tough as the boys. There's much to recommend when Potts is around, from "Ghostbusters" to "Designing Women" to "Pretty In Pink." In November 2014, she starred in the comedy "As Good As You."

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William Atherton has a knack for playing annoying characters -- remember Richard Thornburg in "Die Hard"? -- and he put his talents to good use in "Ghostbusters" as a skeptical government official who kept getting in the way of the team's work. He appeared in the second season of Syfy's "Defiance."

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You can't talk about "Ghostbusters" without mentioning director Ivan Reitman, who also helmed another '80s comedy classic, "Stripes." Reitman's work has been received with more ambivalence since then; neither 2011's rom-com "No Strings Attached" nor 2014's "Draft Day" was as universally liked as "Ghostbusters." The filmmaker has been dancing around a sequel to 1988's "Twins" that would star Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eddie Murphy and Danny DeVito. It would be called "Triplets."

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'Ghostbusters': Where are they now?

Story highlights

Sony Pictures is planning a "cinematic universe" similar to the Marvel films for its "Ghostbusters" franchise

Channing Tatum will star in one of the films, described as "male-oriented"

"Ghostbusters" reboot is already planned with female cast

CNN —

Sony Pictures is expanding its “Ghostbusters” movies with Ghost Corps, a collective headed by original “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman and star Dan Aykroyd, that will oversee the expansion of the movie franchise beyond a cinematic universe into television and merchandising.

The first order of business will be to develop a new male-oriented “Ghostbusters” that will be released after the much ballyhooed female-centric movie being put together by Paul Feig. The movie, which is to star Kirsten Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, shoots this summer and will be released July 22, 2016.

New all-female ‘Ghostbusters’ cast chosen

Joe and Anthony Russo, the duo behind “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and who signed a first-look deal with Sony last week, are being tapped to produce and direct the new movie.

Drew Pearce, who penned “Iron Man 3”, will write the script while Channing Tatum, another Sony favorite after the 22 Jump Street movies, will also produce with his partners Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan. If all goes as planned, Tatum would also star in the movie.

Read the original 1984 THR review of ‘Ghostbusters’

Reitman will also produce the new movie.

Sony is one of the studios less franchise-rich than others, such as Disney or Warner Bros. or even Paramount, which is cranking out “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe” movies.

Female Ghostbusters? Why Studios Want More Women-Led Blockbusters

How seriously is Sony taking this? Enough that Reitman is moving his entire staff of his production banner The Montecito Picture Co. onto the studio lot to focus on this endeavor. Montecito and Ghost Corps will be separate entities, however.