Ghost remake: Channing Tatum acquires the film rights and may take on the Patrick Swayze role

Wow! I did not have a Ghost remake from Channing Tatum on my 2023 Bingo card, folks, and yet, here we are. According to a Vanity Fair cover story, Tatum’s production company, Free Association, owns the film rights to the supernatural drama released in 1990, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg.

“We actually have the rights,” Tatum said to Vanity Fair. “Yeah, we have the rights to ‘Ghost.'” The report also says Tatum could play Patrick Swayze’s role in the remake.

“But we’re going to do something different,” Tatum added, referring to changes he plans to make to the original film’s harmful stereotypes.

Jerry Zucker (Rat Race, The Kentucky Fried Movie) directed Ghost from a script by Bruce Joel Rubin (Deep Impact, The Last Mimzy). Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Vincent Schiavelli, and Rick Aviles star in the romantic fantasy comedy. Zucker’s 1990 classic revolves around Sam West (Swayze), a murdered banker whose spirit refuses to move on until his girlfriend, Molly Jensen (Moore), is warned about the person who killed him. To help get his message to Molly, Sam contacts the medium Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg), who can hear Sam and be his point of contact in the living world.

Ghost performed like gangbusters at the box office with $505 million worldwide against a $22-$23 million budget. Ghost was the highest-grossing film of 1990 and the third highest-grossing film up until that time. During awards season, Ghost was nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, and won Best Supporting Actress (Goldberg) and Best Original Screenplay at the 63rd Academy Awards.

Should Channing Tatum attach himself to a Ghost remake? Who would you cast as Moore’s Molly Jensen and Goldberg’s Oda Mae Brown? Would the street-smart medium still be a part of the story? How would Tatum and the writers change her character for the remake? I’d love to see Tatum playing Sam if only to watch him recreate the iconic pottery scene. Let us know if you’re interested in a Ghost remake in the comments section, and feel free to share your casing ideas too.