Oh, boy, Ghostbusters 3. The third installment of the popular franchise has been in limbo for what feels like an eternity. There has been endless back and forth regarding the status of the sequel going through various rewrites and stories from different writers to Bill Murray not wanting to be involved, but then appearing onstage in his Ghostbusters uniform in 2010 at the the Scream Awards (what a tease!).
Then, the comedy world was dealt a huge blow with the death of legend Harold Ramis, who wrote the first and second Ghostbusters movies with co-star Dan Aykroyd. When the news of Ramis’ passing broke back in February, things didn’t look good for Ghostbusters 3. Recently series director Ivan Reitman announced that because of his friend’s passing, he would not continue as the director of the franchise but offered to stay on the film as a producer as well as help Sony’s Amy Pascal find a replacement. At the time, Reitman gave a “beginning of 2015” timeline to begin production on the third film.
This morning Nikki Finke tweeted that “sources” have revealed to her that 21 Jump Street and The LEGO Movie directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord are being considered to take on the franchise. When I spoke with Miller and Lord at the premiere of The LEGO Movie earlier this year, they, of course, made no mention of this, and just seemed excited to get 22 Jump Street out in theaters.
There are two things that stand out to me about this suggestion: The first is that if anybody could revive this franchise in a way that is fun, funny and respectful to the first two films while still being able to do their own thing, it’s Miller and Lord. The talent that they have been able to wrangle for their films and get fantastic performances out of is unparalleled. The other part is that Jonah Hill has been rumored to have been approached about the Ghostbusters franchise as recently as December 2013, and bringing Miller and Lord on to direct seems like a sure fire way for Sony to lock him in to star. Plus, when you think about the talent that the directing duo has worked with in the past — Chris Pratt, Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Charlie Day — they might all round out a new incarnation of the Ghostbusters franchise quite nicely.
Per usual in Hollywood, we’ll all have to wait and see what will actually happen, but according to Reitman, “Sony sees this as a huge worldwide opportunity, and it is eager to make the film.”
What do you all think? Should Ghostbusters 3 go on with out Ramis and Reitman directing? If so, who should put on the Proton back next? Sound off in the comments below!
I sincerely hope this does not happen, with the death of Ramis I lost faith this would ever happen and sincerely hope it does not.
Okay, let’s call this for what it is … a rebooting.
Despite all Dan “Can I NOT step away from the buffet table ?” Ackroyd wants to do with this property (because despite all this back and forth, it’s really really the last dim bulb that wants to see this happen), it’s not the Original Coca Cola, so to speak.
Spengler shuffled off this mortal coil and Venkman is wanting to play aloof, eccentric characters with Wes Anderson. Ray doesn’t get it.
It’s a friggin’ reboot. One that has been in “developmental hell” for years and under Ivan Reitman’s direction, will be a new version of the Ghostbusters for a new generation.
But I just have to play Ackroyd’s advocate for just a moment: Does he really want to bury this franchise like he did with the Blues Brothers ?
Or whore it out, like said Blues Brothers ?
Magic 8 Ball says, “Absolutely”.
Frankly, as a former Saturday Night Live Not Ready for Prime Time Players lover, I’ve moved on. The original movie was a classic.
Ghostbusters II, not so much.
Let someone else give a **** about this.
I was all for this with Ramis, but without him and without Reitman…