In a very expected move (it’s been rumored for months), Ghostbusters and Evolution director Ivan Reitman has been announced by MGM as responsible for continuing the Pink Panther live-action movie franchise. The Hollywood Reporter also states that none other than Steve Martin (currently starring as the twisted head of the Acme Corporation in Looney Tunes: Back In Action) is to fill the shoes of “legendary” detective Jacques Clouseau in the new film, which is hoped will spark a new series that would run bi-annually with the James Bond films. Martin has the unenviable task of topping the inimitable Peter Sellers as the bumbling French detective, though he’s sure to do better than one-timers Alan Arkin (1968’s Inspector Clouseau) and Roger Moore, who appeared very briefly (credited as Turk Thrust II) in the final film in the original series, Curse Of The Pink Panther (1983). Filming is expected to start next year for a 2005 release.