Dan Aykroyd 'Delighted' to Pass “Ghostbusters” Torch to Female Cast

Mathis Wienand/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — The cast of the all-female Ghostbusters movie has received the seal of approval from Dan Aykroyd, who co-wrote and starred in the first two movies in the series.

It was announced Tuesday that Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Saturday Night Live stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones will take part in the new installment in the franchise.

“The Aykroyd family is delighted by this inheritance of the Ghostbusters torch by these most magnificent women in comedy,” Akroyd said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “My great grandfather, Dr. Sam Aykroyd, the original Ghostbuster, was a man who empowered women in his day, and this is a beautiful development in the legacy of our family business.”

Aykroyd, 62, co-wrote Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II with the late Harold Ramis, with whom he co-starred in the films along with Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson. After Ramis’ death last year, Ivan Reitman, who had directed the first two installments and had been tapped to helm the third, bowed out of the project. Paul Feig will now direct.

After word of the new Ghostbusters cast got out, Hudson tweeted, “Two words: ‘No comment.'”

The all-female Ghostbusters movie will open on July 22, 2016.


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