Ghostbusters to get a feature-length animated spin-off?

Ghostly going ons at Sony Pictures Animation

It would seem the head honchos over at Sony are quite keen on idea of spinning some of their biggest franchises off into animated movies. Earlier this year, we learned that the studio was giving Spider-Man the 'toon treatment, turning to directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, Last Man on Earth) to put a fresh spin on mistreated Marvel property.

Now, the studio are sizing-up another much-loved movie property for an animated makeover, setting their sights on a CGI update of cult classic Ghostbusters. The news comes from The Tracking Board, who are reporting that producer Ivan Reitman and Sony Pictures Animation have struck a deal for an animated movie featuring everyone's favourite paranormal exterminators.

Whereas Paul Feig's upcoming reboot eschews tradition to put a fresh twist on the decades-old ghostbusting formula, this animated feature will cleave a little more closely to the original Ghostbusters template. Both films will feature a cadre of scientists who use crazy contraptions to battle things that go bump in the night, of course, but the rumours seem to suggest the spin-off will be closer in spirit to the eighties series.

Rather excitingly, this leaves the door open for the return of the original cast, the magic of CGI allowing them to play younger versions of themselves. Of course, this could just be wishful thinking on our part, but it would make sense for Sony; a CGI makeover would no-doubt pull in a younger audience, while the return of Murray, Aykroyd, et al, would be a big draw for those of us who grew up with the original films. Gotta hit those demographics, Sony!

Regardless, we're very interested to see how this one pans outs, and would love to see more classic properties spruced up via the magic of computer animation. Back to the Future, anyone?