Legendary Pictures has purchased the script for Spectral from screenwriter Ian Fried. Although the film has no official synopsis yet, the word is the movie is essentially a darker take on the classic Ghostbusters story.
Indeed, a special ops team is formed to deal with supernatural beings when ghosts invade Manhattan.
You can expect the team to feel a lot like those in a military drama. There will surely be lots of gadgets and explosions, but as long as it doesn’t turn into a startle-flick, it might actually be a decent film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fried put together a ‘rip reel’ – a series of clips from other films – to show Legendary what he was going for.
One wonders how many Ghostbusters scenes were on the reel, but these things rarely ever get out to the public unless leaked, as they really only make sense to a studio exec.
This film is Fried’s big break in Hollywood. After shopping around a number of fantasy scripts which have gotten a lot of attention, but garnered no sales, he’s finally found a home for one of his stories.
The comparison to Ghostbusters will likely help him out quite a bit, as it is one of the most revered films in cinema history. Nevertheless, both Fried and the studio might want to be careful about emphasizing too much association with the film in press materials, as it might raise unrealistically raise expectations.
Meaning, when the film comes out, people will inevitably compare it to the classic – and it just won’t hold up.
Also, I wont be surprised if the studio changes the name of the film to Spectral Ops to make the word-play more apparent.
There are no production or release dates yet announced for Spectral.
