Paul Feig Reveals Surprising Inspiration For 'Ghostbusters'

In addition to the original Ghostbusters films, there’s plenty of movies and TV shows that might serve as inspiration to Paul Feig for his upcoming all-female reboot. He might turn to effective horror comedies, like Peter Jackson’s underrated The Frighteners, or recent New Zealand horror favorite Housebound. Instead, Feig has revealed one of his sources of inspiration for the reboot, and it’s kind of surprising…and maybe also a little disappointing?

Feig appeared on AMC’s Talking Dead after last night’s new episode of The Walking Dead (via Blastr), where talk naturally turned to his next project. You can probably already guess where this is going:

I will say, I was very inspired by this show. What I love is how they play with the danger, they play with the scariness, but also the idea that it’s always about gauntlet run. And that’s something, an element I want to bring to this Ghostbusters reboot is having to get through these various obstacles that are supernatural and all that. I really feed off of The Walking Dead.

Okay, okay, maybe Feig only said this because he was a guest on Talking Dead and it’s the kind of thing the makers of that show would probably be thrilled to hear. If so, smooth move on his part. And maybe Feig is being sincere, in which case, here’s hoping that the Ghostbusters reboot is nothing like The Walking Dead, one of the most inconsistent, dour shows in history.

But Feig’s mention of the “obstacles” and the “gauntlet run” aspects of The Walking Dead inspire a little optimism. Clearly the director is taking his inspiration from specific concepts on the series, and while The Walking Dead fumbles a lot, it does have some good features.

Feig’s Ghostbusters reboot hits theaters on July 22, 2016.