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Dan Aykroyd Still Plans To Make His Ghostbusters III

Dan Aykroyd is nothing if not resilient. Even though in the past 25 years he has been unable to get his long-cherished ‘Ghostbusters III’ into production - plans which would seemingly have been put to bed by Sony greenlighting Paul Feig’s reboot - it seems the series co-creator has still not given up hope on getting his sequel made.

Aykroyd tells The Interrobang, “there’s three drafts of the old concept that exists. And we’re going to be able to salvage some of it and use it. Yeah, we’re gonna be able to use it some day. Let’s get this one made and that will reinvigorate the franchise and then we’ll go on to maybe doing a more conventional third sequel as we were planning and another idea I have for it.”

It would appear Aykroyd has no concerns about continuity clashes here, as Paul Feig’s ‘Ghostbusters’ will be set in world in which “the first two movies don’t exist… this is a whole parallel reality where for the first time the Ghostbusters exist and they’re women in this environment that’s a lot different than the first two.”

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The Canadian actor, writer and comedian (and latterly manufacturer of Crystal Head Vodka) co-wrote the original ‘Ghostbusters’ and its 1989 sequel with the late Harold Ramis. Both films were directed by Ivan Reitman, with the same core cast including Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson and Rick Moranis, and it had long been hoped that the band would get back together once more for a third installment.

The most frequently-cited reason for ‘Ghostbusters 3’ not happening was the well-publicised reluctance of Bill Murray to return after his disappointment with ‘Ghostbusters 2.’ However, studio concerns over budget are also said to have been a factor, as Aykroyd’s ambitious script reportedly sees the Ghostbusters literally go to hell.

Still, despite his fervent dedication to his baby, Aykroyd remains full of praise for Paul Feig and his upcoming reboot:  “I can tell you, as the originator, I’m very happy with what he’s done. It’s very tasteful. And it needed a reworking. The thing needed a new engine. You know? It needed new exhaust. It needed new steering. And this is what we’re getting.”

He says Feig has written a “great, great script,” and hails the cast of Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon as “tremendous… [Feig] establishes the voices beautifully in these characters. Now of course, he’s got masters playing the roles for him, so this is going to really work in our favor for the third movie.”

While it’s nice to see the ‘Ghostbusters’ creator remaining so enthusiastic about the material after all these years, it’s hard not to feel that Aykroyd might not be just a little deluded on this subject. Should Feig’s ‘Ghostbusters’ prove a hit, surely that will only pave the way to a direct sequel with the same cast, rather than a revival of the original franchise. On top of which, without the sadly missed Harold Ramis, it’s hard to see how the original line-up could ever be the same.

Let us know what you think about Dan Aykroyd’s enduring ‘Ghostbusters 3’ plans below. Meanwhile, Paul Feig’s ‘Ghostbusters’ shoots this summer, with an eye to a July 2016 release.

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Picture credit: WENN, Sony, Twitter/Kristen Wiig