Ghostbusters 2016 Update: Cast Photos, Release Date, Trailer and Plot Spoilers

Feb 05, 2016 07:53 AM EST

"Ghostbusters" fans are treated to a surprise when the producers of the 2016 reboot film released pictures of the cast. While the upcoming reboot has been confirmed to feature the beautiful, funny ladies taking on the lead roles, one of the most anticipated characters is the team's receptionist. Widely known to the public as the hunky "Thor," Australian actor Chris Hemsworth sheds his hammer and cape for a pair of chunky glasses and a vest.

Chris Hemsworth plays the receptionist for the Ghostbusters 2016 reboot.

However, one of the most surprising additions to the cast is Charles Dance of "Game of Thrones" fame. To date, the actor's role has yet to be revealed. Dance himself disclosed vague details of his part in the "Ghostbusters" reboot, saying only that he sticks out like a sore thumb in the film.

"I'm a kind of straight man to a bunch of very funny ladies," Dance said to Radio Times of his inclusion in the "Ghostbusters" 2016 reboot. The "Game of Thrones" star added, "He's neither really. He's not villainous but he just doesn't understand and appreciate the whole Ghostbusting thing. He is English as well."

The "Ghostbusters" reboot will feature Melissa McCarthy as Abby Yates, who is described as a paranormal researcher. Yates is also a supernatural scientist and an entity trapper. Her character published a book with Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig). The duo's work focuses on the pieces of evidence that prove the existence of ghosts. However, Wiig eventually abandons McCarthy's character to pursue more academic work.


Upon leaving Yates to pursue traditional academia, Gilbert found fame as a widely renowned professor. However, her status in the academy collapsed once the book she published with Yates surfaced. When she hears of the ghost invasion in New York, though, Gilbert immediately reunites with her old partner and tries to save the world. She reunites with Yates and is branded as a "particle physicist, academic firebrand, and spectral warrior."


Gilbert's departure pushed Yates to seek a new partner. She found one in the person of Jillian Holtzman (Kate McKinnon), who is described as a "nuclear engineer, munitions expert, and proton wrangler." Gilbert later on joins forces with Yates and Holtzman to help stop the invasion.


The rookie of the "Ghostbusters" crew is Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones). She is known as a municipal historian who also works as a metaphysical commando and a ghost tracker. While she has no experience with the supernatural, Tolan's past includes working as a subway worker. Fans speculate that her job as a "municipal historian" could be an important factor in beating the invasion.


In an earlier interview, director Paul Feig cautioned of the project. He shared that the "Ghostbusters" 2016 film is a reboot and not a sequel. However, Feig noted that he has no intention of "recreating" the earlier movies.

"We're not recreating the old movie but we want to do just enough fun nods that the fans will go, 'Oh, okay, they're acknowledging that the other movie existed,'" said Feigg via Empire. The director added, "I like to watch parodies, but I don't want to do them because they're too referential. Comedy that's too referential has such a short shelf life, whereas comedy that's based around characters will be relatable 2000 years from now because people won't change that much."

The "Ghostbusters" 2016 reboot is slated to hit the theaters on July 15, 2016.