Director Paul Feig says he hopes to make his already controversial reboot of ‘Ghostbusters’ a more frightening film than the original 1984 classic.

The ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘The Heat’ director, who has divided opinion with his decision to reboot the series with an all-female cast rather than make a direct sequel, tells Empire Magazine, “I want ours to be scarier than the original, to be quite honest.

"(Screenwriter) Katie Dipold and I are so focused on wanting to do scary comedy. We don’t want to hold back."

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Still, whilst Feig and Dipold’s previous collaborations have been hugely successful adult-oriented comedies, the director clearly appreciates that ‘Ghostbusters’ is intended for a wider, family audience.

"The reason I do a lot of R-Rated comedies is that you want a movie to feel honest. But the Ghostbusters world doesn’t need that level of swearing.

"We’ll have to be PG-13 with this one. I would like to make it R-Rated, but I won’t. You want the biggest number of people to watch it and not be put off by it."

This interview also saw Feig once again defend his decision to go back to square one with the franchise, with women in the lead roles. Insisting he has “too much respect for the original one” to make a direct follow-up, Feig also argues there’s a good creative reason for resetting the clock:

"There’s also the feeling that once the world knows ghosts and has seen them busted on such a large scale, they run the risk of becoming pedestrian. There’s something fun about introducing our world, which has never seen ghosts to the phenomenon of ghosts. I love origin stories and to introduce new characters."

Regarding the female cast: “A lot of people accused it of being a gimmick. I guess I can see the cynics’ view of it, but for me I just love working with funny women. People said, ‘Why don’t you do a mix?’ I’m just more interested in the idea of lady Ghostbusters. It’s the way my brain works.”

Still, Feig emphaised, “It won’t be called Lady Ghostbusters! Certainly not…Ghostbustieres is the way to go.”

Yes, we’re pretty sure he’s kidding there. Meanwhile, Feig would not be drawn on potential casting, but implies a great many actresses fancy their chances: “when you do a movie like Ghostbusters, people get very interested.”

Read the full interview in the latest issue of Empire Magazine.

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Picture Credit: Sony, WENN