Speaking with Esquire, Dan Aykroyd said that he and director Ivan Reitman are "closer than we ever have been" to getting the project underway, he noted via Yahoo U.K. One obstacle though is that Ghostbusters I & II star Bill Murray may be a no-show, though Aykroyd and Reitman are holding out that he may just come on board in the end.
"I'm not sure Billy [has to sign on] anymore, since he abrogated his rights by sort of saying, two years ago, 'I don't want to be involved,'" Aykroyd said according to Yahoo Movies U.K. "The picture company I think had some clause in there that if he actually passed on the third of fourth offer, he no longer has a view of the franchise."
But a Ghostbusters III sans Murray will not be a mortal wound should the likely re-do go ahead. The creative team, he notes, will even leave a space should all work out in the end.
"We have to move on, but we’ll always leave a hole for him. He’s always there. He can always come back at any time and be rebuilt into it, as far as I’m concerned. That’s up to his lawyer and the picture company to work out, but creatively, he will always be a part of it."
Continuing Aykroyd added: "If it does not happen, the life of Dan Aykroyd and his family and friends will be quite full without Ghostbusters 3."
[Source: Yahoo U.K.]