Ghostbusters 3

The long-rumored third film in the Ghostbusters franchise is currently in development at Sony Pictures. It is being written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who are co-executive producers and writers on the US version of "The Office", with input from Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman. The plot, as stated by Aykroyd in several interviews, involves the original Ghostbusters team training a group of younger Ghostbusters. The identity of the trainees has not yet been revealed, although Aykroyd has suggested it will include both men and women, and that the primary trainee is someone special (who he declined to reveal). They'll also be training with new Ghostbusting equipment, including a Psychotron, Accelerators, and a device that allows the user to flip from dimension to dimension called the Neuron Splitter.History of UpdatesConstantly rumored to be on again and off again, Ghostbusters 3 has been in "development hell" since at least 1997, when Ramis and Aykroyd were working on a concept that would eventually be known as "Hellbent". The same concept of using the original cast with trainees taking over was in place even then, and the script was rumored to have been written with Chris Farley in mind. Later, Ben Stiller was suggested as a replacement. Will Smith and Conan O'Brien were also rumored, among others. The question of whether Bill Murray was willing to return was also pertinent, as he had made his disappointing experience on Ghostbusters II fairly well known, and long-standing rifts between Murray and Ramis were still not healed. Eventually, it was suggested that Murray had agreed to appear, but only if his character died and came back as a ghost. The film ultimately came close enough to development to appear as a finished credit in Dan Aykroyd's filmography on a handful of Universal DVDs, including 1941, the original Blues Brothers DVD and Blues Brothers 2000. In 1999, Aykroyd revealed that the screenplay (which was described by IGN as being "too technical", with a new team of Ghostbusters that were not clearly delineated and lacking in conflict or personality) was budgeted by Columbia at around $150 million, which at the time represented a prohibitively expensive investment for the studio. Aykroyd asked to shop the script to other studios, but Sony refused to license the franchise rights to another company, and the project was considered dead. In 2005, while promoting The Ice Harvest, Harold Ramis explained more about the Ben Stiller version of the Hellbent screenplay, describing how the characters would have ended up in an alternate version of New York. It seems as if two versions may have existed: one in which the group is mourning Venkman's death and another with the character's regular level of participation. In 2008, during an interview with Mike McGuire on CISN Country 103.9 FM in Edmonton, Alberta, Dan Aykroyd announced that Ghostbusters III: Hellbent will be CGI. "I can do all the things I wanted to do for much, much less money," he stated. Later, on a Canadian morning show he discussed the same plot that Ramis mentioned, while indicating Murray's full involvement. "We go to the hell side of Manhattan, downtown, Foley Square. It's all where the cops are--they are all blue minotaurs. Central Park is this huge peat mine with green demons there, surrounded by black onyx thousand-foot high apartment buildings with classic red devils, very wealthy. We go and visit a Donald Trump-like character who is Mr. Sifler. Luke Sifler. Lu-cifer. So we meet the devil in it". Shortly afterward, Sierra announced Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which reunited all four main actors in a plot revised by Aykroyd and Ramis (only Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis opted out). It's unclear whether or not Aykroyd was referring to the video game when talking about Hellbent, or if Sony had also attempted to create an animated sequel. Aykroyd has mentioned in interviews that the plot isn't directly based on Hellbent, but it contains much of the same material, and has gone on record saying that the game "is essentially the third movie". Conflicting reports of the third movie began to emerge. Ernie Hudson told Moviehole.net that Ghostbusters III was still very much a possibility, and that he hoped that the new video game would generate renewed interest in a 3rd Ghostbusters film. During Juno's Oscar push, Jason Reitman was interviewed and asked whether he would be interested in directing Ghostbusters 3, but he replied that he had little interest in directing the franchise as it was his father's creation. Premiere Magazine interviewed Sigourney Weaver and asked if a new film was in the works, but she replied, “Well, I just saw Ivan Reitman at this dinner, this lunch for his son, and, ummm, there’s no way.” As the game progressed, however, things started looking up. While promoting City of Ember, Bill Murray stated that his disappointment over Ghostbusters 2 had faded -- "the wounds have healed" -- and he'd consider making another one if the script was right. Soon after, Sony quietly assigned Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, the writers of Harold Ramis' Year One, to develop a third picture. Sigourney Weaver suggested that her character's son Oscar may be a new Ghostbuster, when asked, although she stated that she wasn't sure there was anything else for her character to do. Finally, in March 2009, Sony announced that they were actively developing Ghostbusters 3 as a theatrical sequel. Aykroyd has indicated that the writers have seen the game, and are making sure the script for the third movie will incorporate any plot developments. He has also said that he hopes the first Ghostbusters game is a success, as he has ideas for more.New DevelopmentsDan Aykroyd has expressed that he hopes the script will be done by Fall 2009 so it can shoot for a summer 2010 release, although Eisenberg and Stupnitsky are committed to "The Office", so scheduling may be tricky. Harold Ramis confirmed a script was in the works to MTV, and said that it's not likely that Reitman will direct the movie, although he will be involved. He also said that he wasn't planning on directing it either. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, it was suggested that Rick Moranis would also be returning, but the actual quotes from Ramis don't include Moranis' name. In a 2005 interview with Proton Charging, Moranis claimed he had no interest in making another Ghostbusters movie, as he disliked the experience of making the second film, and he has been semi-retired for several years now. Since he did not reprise his role for the video game, it seems unlikely that he will return for the film, if and when it gets made.