'Ghostbusters 3' May Not Feature Bill Murray

For all the many people both in front and behind the camera that made 1984's "Ghostbusters" such a success it would not have ever existed if not for one man: Dan Aykroyd. Aykroyd not only played the character of Ray Stanz but he also created the entire concept, wrote the original draft of the script, and collaborated with co-star Harold Ramis on the final screenplay. Aykroyd has been talking about wanting to do a third "Ghostbusters" movie for years, and one of the consistent hurdles has always been Bill Murray. Murray has said he's open to returning but has been extremely picky about the script (which has gone through many variations by now) and finicky about how much he'd actually be willing to appear. In an interview on Dennis Miller's radio show Aykroyd indicated that he's determined to get the third "Ghostbusters" shooting in 2012, even if it means doing it without Murray.

In the interview Aykroyd was very tactful about the issue of Murray's involvement. He didn't say flat out that he's ready to move on without Murray, he even said that he hopes his co-star will be involved. However he then went on to say "that 'Ghostbusters' is bigger than any one component." This feels like a diplomatic way of saying that Aykroyd's not going to keep waiting for Murray, and this time it's going to happen with or without him.

Part of the reason that Murray is not actually going to be essential to the story is that the planned film would center around newer, younger characters who are taking up the Ghostbusters mantel from the old team. While the intention is still to have the original characters there Aykroyd has been saying since the first rumors of the project that it would be a case of passing the torch from one generation to the next. As a result it becomes less essential to maintain all of the original elements from the first two films. The idea has been explored previously in the animated series "Extreme Ghostbusters" in which Egon Spengler, played by Ramis in the films, mentored a young group of Ghostbusters.

While the core idea of passing the torch has remained the same for all the years Aykroyd has talked about a third "Ghostbusters" film there have been innumerable scripts written. The one that came closest to actual production was written by writers for TV's "The Office," Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. In 2009 both Aykroyd and Ramis were very enthusiastic about the script and everything seemed ready to go. However that year the film "Year One," which Stupnitsky and Eisenberg wrote with Ramis, released to dismal box office and was widely panned by critics. This caused a loss of faith in the script and the project was shelved.

Whether the current script, assuming there even is a complete one, is based off of Stupnitsky and Eisenberg's work or if it was reworked from the ground up isn't clear yet. The rumor was the in that script Murray's character of Peter Venkman would be a cameo, as a ghost. However with that idea having leaked some time ago it seems unlikely it would still be in a current script. While Aykroyd maintains his enthusiasm for the project it has been delayed so many times that fans are unlikely to let themselves get too excited until cameras actually start rolling.

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