With the recent release of the first US and International trailer for the new Ghostbusters movie, many fans are beginning to wonder where that franchise is headed. Sony Pictures has devoted a lot of time and energy to bringing this property back from the dead (no pun intended), so they probably aren’t going to give up on this revival anytime soon. Heck, they just recently announced plans for an animated Ghostbusters movie in addition to the new re-imagining that will be coming out this summer. If they are this interested in the franchise, chances are that they will be exploring a lot of potential plot concepts in the coming years, which begs the following question:
Is it possible that we could see a TMNT/Ghostbusters movie?
Well, my immediate thoughts about this are that it’s probably never going to happen. Ghostbusters is a property owned by Sony, while the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are currently owned by Viacom. Considering how profitable the Ninja Turtles have been for Viacom, chances are that we won’t see them giving up on the franchise any time soon, and they probably won’t be quick to loan the property for the purposes of any film or television show. Yes, we recently saw a TMNT/Ghostbusters comic book, but it’s a lot easier to secure rights for a comic series than it is to secure the rights for a movie or television series. With that being said, it obviously wouldn’t be difficult to combine the two properties into one epic crossover film. It’s entirely possible that Viacom could decide to work with Sony in order to make something like this happen, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely loved the comic series that brought these two franchises together, and I would love to see them develop this concept into a full feature film. Of course, if we really want to see this happen, it’s probably pretty important for this first new Ghostbusters movie to do well, and that could pose a problem with all of the negative feedback the trailers have already received. With a budget even higher than that of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, if the movie performs poorly at the box office, we might not actually see any new Ghostbusters concepts coming to fruition anytime soon.
Unlike the TMNT franchise, which had built up an entirely new fan base in the two years preceding the film’s release, Ghostbusters is coming back fresh from the grave (pun totally intended) with this new movie. The Ninja Turtles movie weathered a slew of negative reviews because the property was popular enough that it didn’t matter what the critics thought. When it comes to busting ghosts, there hasn’t been much to encourage anything other than nostalgia for the original product, and they haven’t yet developed a newer, younger fan base for the property. This could be a huge problem for the film and its potential success, which could then have a negative impact on any future concepts involving the Ghostbusters.
Personally, I am very hopeful that the new movie is successful enough to warrant continued exploration of the franchise. If both Out of the Shadows and the Ghostbusters remake do well at the box office this summer, the possibility of seeing a crossover of the two properties may become even more likely. Ultimately, this is entirely speculation and discussion of what could happen, and not anything that is even remotely concrete. No, we don’t have insider information which suggests that this will happen, I’m just speculating about the potential for this kind of a project. In the end, there isn’t much potential to speak of, but anything is possible.
What do you think? Would you pay to see a TMNT/Ghostbusters crossover movie? Share your thoughts either via facebook/twitter or in the comments below.