I’ve been a Ghostbusters fan since the early 90s, and the forever-rumored Ghostbusters 3 has been hyped up by Dan Ackroyd for about as long as I can remember. You might thank that 2016’s all-female reboot would have knocked that particular nail on the head for good, but the film being totally crap seems to have reignited Ackroyd’s proton pack and gotten him hyped up once more about a sequel to the first two outings starring the original cast (well, except Harold Ramis).
Ackroyd recently appeared on The Big Interview where he expounded on his plans for a new film in the franchise, saying:
“I think we got a story that’s gonna work. It’s being written by a really good filmmaker, can’t say the names, but they’re a good team, they’re making an effort to bring back all the spirit and the emotion of the first two movies, and then take it into the 21st century with a vernacular that’s needed today to get it across.”
But there’s one hurdle perpetually standing in the way of a Ghostbusters reunion, and that’s that Bill Murray really doesn’t want to do it. But that doesn’t worry Ackroyd, who told The Big Interview:
“I think Billy will come… the story is so good. He’ll come. Even if he plays a ghost. I don’t know [laughs],”
Having carved out a career for himself as an indie darling in between games of golf, Murray has been notoriously unwilling about returning as Peter Venkman. Back in 2015, he spoke to Variety about his reticence to reappear in the franchise, saying:
Those guys, Danny and Harold [Ramis], were at the top of their game [for the first movie]. They were burning nitro at that moment. Unless you have a really clear vision, you’re always trying to recreate that.”
I can’t help but think that the time’s passed for a proper Ghostbusters 3 with the original cast. Frankly, if there ever was going to be one, it’d have been sometime in the mid-90s. Even as a huge fan, I’m not sure I want to see the team back together sans Ramis looking old, squeezed into their jumpsuits and busting ghosts into their old age.
Maybe I could imagine a soft reboot featuring the original cast instructing a new generation of Ghostbusters, but then you’re inching into the same territory occupied by the remake. I think Ackroyd is just engaging in some wishful thinking here, as it’s probably about time for the property to rest in peace.