Dan Aykroyd on Ghostbusters 3

Ghostbusters 3 has been in a vague state of development for many years now, and in a fascinating new Esquire interview, franchise costar and chief threequel cheerleader Dan Aykroyd sounds more than a little exhausted at the long process of attempting to bring the horror-comedy franchise back to the big screen. He explains how a long writing process — which included a draft by Office writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg followed by a rewrite from Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder, Men in Black 3) — has produced “a script that we like.” But he winds up issuing a statement that sounds like a message directed right at Ghostbuster‘s studio, Sony — a warning that he and director-producer Ivan Reitman might be moving on, and taking the franchise with them. Says Aykroyd:

We can’t wait forever. And now’s the time to tell the picture company, and I’d say this quite publicly, it’s time now to sit down and make this movie, or you will lose your main principals, and you won’t be able to make it without us, because we have rights, and now is time to make the movie… You don’t take advantage of that in the next three or four months, I’ll see you in Australia, where we’ll be selling Crystal Head [Akyroyd’s vodka brand].

Aykroyd also talks openly about the wavering interest of Bill Murray, and at one point says, “Had Billy chosen to do the Eisenberg/Stupnitsky script of two years ago, it would be out this summer, and it would be a massive hit.” (The two remain friends, and Aykroyd promises that, should Murray decide to rejoin Ghostbusters 3, “he can always come back at any time and be rebuilt into it.”) If nothing else, Aykroyd’s interview is an essential document of the reboot era, and the difficult of bringing a beloved franchise back to life — check it out!

Follow Darren on Twitter: @DarrenFranich

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