'Ghostbusters 3' to Begin Filming in Spring

Ghostbusters 3 is finally ready to begin filming this spring. The long-awaited third film to the series has been hung up for various reasons over the years, including cast and scripting problems, but it now appears that the film is ready for production.

According to CNN, Dan Aykroyd has stated that, "Ghostbusters 3 is officially a go." Aykroyd is, of course, one of the main characters of the first two films, and the man responsible for trying to get this script off the ground for years. The film still has a pretty big problem though, because Bill Murray hasn't agreed to come back for the third movie. That could be a hard sell to some fans who found him one of the best reasons to like the original films.

Aykroyd was on Dennis Miller's radio show where he stated that, "Yes, we will be doing the movie and hopefully with Mr. Murray." He went on to say that, "Billy was absolutely the lead and contributed to it in a massive way. The concept is much larger than any individual role." Those statements certainly make it sound like the special effects will play a major part in this movie, but that it could also be relying on a larger ensemble cast to pull it off.

The theme all along has been that this chapter would allow the older characters to pass down the business to a younger cast. It gives Hollywood an easier chance to sell the film to the younger audiences, and a golden opportunity to bring in a young and attractive cast that could fill the seats at the box office. No names have been officially attached to the project, but Ashton Kutcher has come up in past rumors. Whether he still wants to do it now that he is heavily involved in Two and a Half Men for CBS is another question though.

There has been no information revealed about a possible release date just yet, but if the filming begins in the spring of 2012, maybe they will be aiming for a Halloween release. It's possible though, that the film doesn't make it to theaters until 2013 with the pace at which this one has been put together. The producers are definitely going to have to work hard to create a positive buzz for the movie in order to make sure it doesn't bomb, and it could be equally important to make sure that Murray is a part of the final cast.