Ghostbusters 3 in Development

Variety is reporting that a third installment in the Ghostbusters franchise is "under development" with a script being written by The Office" co-exec producers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg.

The idea is to bring back the original cast of Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson for a Ghostbusters 3 adventure. No word as to what the plot of the film would be and whether Sigourney Weaver or Rick Moranis would also return.

The idea of a new Ghostbusters 3 film has been around since the last installment was produced nearly twenty years ago. Both the original and the sequel, about a team of bumbling "Ghost exterminators" made an incredible amount of money. Efforts to bring a Ghostbusters 3 film into production have always fallen apart due to make a deal with the stars that would allow the studio to make money on the project.

One incarnation of a Ghostbusters 3 suggested a few years ago would have involved Ben Stiller being sucked into a Hell universe version of New York in which New York's various urban problems were exaggerated by several orders of magnitude. Nothing came of this project which would have been entitled Ghostbusters in Hell.

The first two Ghostbusters films were wildly popular due to the dead pan scenario of exterminators who, instead of getting rid of insect pests, got rid of ghosts and other noxious spirits. Add in the comic acting talents of the principle stars, Sigourney Weaver's charms, and tight, witty dialogue and one got a pair of movies that couldn't fail. There was even some sly, social satire about an interfering bureaucrat from the Environmental Protection Agency who almost brings about the end of the world.

Of course one of the problems with doing a Ghostbusters 3 with the original cast is that the principles from the first two films are older, pushing or even past age sixty. One can see a scenario with the older Ghostbusters being called out of retirement to deal with one last ectoplasmic disaster. But one can see Ghostbusters 3 resembling some of the later classic Star Trek films in which the cast, having done these roles forever, seemed a little long in the tooth for all the running and jumping that a new adventure would imply.

Perhaps a solution would be Ghostbusters 3: The Next Generation. Get some younger acting talent like Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and maybe Brendan Fraser or Will Ferrell to be the new Ghostbusters. Get Cate Blanchett or Rachel Weisz to be the love interest. Get some of the original cast to do cameos by all means, but definitely relaunch the franchise with people who will be around for a while.

Sources: Columbia calls up new 'Ghostbusters', Michael Fleming, Variety, September 4th, 2008
Ramis Plans 'Ghostbusters 3' with Stiller, Hollywood.com, November 8th, 2005