he 80s nostalgia wave has been in full effect for a few years now and one of the most beloved cultural artifacts to be rediscovered has been the Ghostbusters franchise. Hipsters everywhere walk around with tight and faux-faded Ghostbusters T-shirts. With a 25th anniversary fast approaching, it was inevitable that someone in Hollywood would start discussing the possibilities of reviving the franchise. It all started with the production of a Ghostbusters video game that reunited Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray. Aykroyd and Ramis wrote the script for the game (as they did with the movies) and they all came in for voice work sparking off a wave of nostalgia for the three absurdly hilarious comedians.

Shortly after that Ramis told the press that a new script was being written by Office scribes Gene Stupnisky and Lee Eisenberg (who just wrote Year One with Ramis). The concept for the film involves the original Ghostbusters training a new generation of recruits and it’s been rumored that Judd Apatow and his cast of thousands will be involved with the project. However, the thing that would make or break the movie is the involvement of Bill Murray. The notoriously prickly comedian has been blocking the production of a third film for years after a negative experience on Ghostbusters 2 and could easily thwart the franchise again. However, someone recently asked him about the project at Fantastic Fest, and Murray had this to say (skip to the end of the file):



Clearly Murray is warming to the idea of returning to his iconic role of Peter Venkman now that “the wounds of Ghostbusters 2 have healed.” It’s still too early to tell if the project will happen. The script will have to be solid to reunite everybody and special effects comedy can be a harsh mistress. Plus, I’m sure Sony (who owns the rights) will wait to see how the Ghostbusters game sells this June before committing to a new film.

Personally, I think the franchise should be left alone. Speaking as a huge fan of the series, I’m concerned that it’s just too late to be making a new film. The strength of the original movies was always the cast and not the effects, so if Aykroyd, Murray, and Ramis sit on the sidelines the best part of the films will be lost. And as much as I am a fan of Apatow and his crew, this seems like the wrong venue for them. Their comedies thrive on realism not fantasy. The Ghostbusters franchise is a classic at this point and shouldn’t be messed with. A video game extension is one thing because that is in a different medium, but making another film could seriously tarnish the reputation of the franchise (a la Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Bullshit). That said, if a new movie comes out I’ll be the first in line to see it. Simple as that.