Maybe we spoke too soon. Only last week we dismissed the latest news regarding GHOSTBUSTERS 3 – Aziz Ansari being sought to star – as nothing more than ill-founded spin to promote his new comedy 30 MINUTES OR LESS. Talk of a third GHOSTBUSTERS movie got stale many years ago. Not that we don’t want it (I’d personally love to see those guys strap on the Proton packs once more!), it’s just so frustrating. Especially when you consider the fact that it’s Bill Murray himself who’s holding the whole thing up.

Murray’s interest in reprising Peter Venkman wavers from day to day. One minute he’s telling everybody how jazzed he was to do a third after having so much fun collaborating on the 2009 videogame, the next he’s insisting that he’ll only appear if they kill off his character in the first ten minutes. One minute he’s appearing at the Scream Awards dressed in the Ghostbuster overalls (pictured below), the next he admits that the script has been on his coffee table for three months – and that he can’t be bothered reading it. Again, I’m a huge fan of the actor’s work – but it’s gotta be said, he’s being a bit of an arse. Especially when you consider co-star (and co-creator) Dan Aykroyd’s previous statement that he’s got a long-standing pact with the actor not to make any more Ghostbuster movies without the whole gang’s involvement. Aykroyd’s passion and commitment for the project has always been unwavering, which is commendable to say the least. We wish Murray would just sh*t or get off the pot, and put his old friend (and fans) out of their misery.

Well, it transpires that might not be a problem after all, seems Aykroyd’s had a change of heart. Talking with Dennis Miller on his chatshow recently, Ackroyd dropped the following…

“Yes, we will be doing the movie and hopefully with Mr. Murray. That is our hope. We have an excellent script. What we have to remember is that ‘Ghostbusters’ is bigger than any one component, although Billy was absolutely the lead and contributive to it in a massive way, as was the director and Harold, myself and Sigourney. The concept is much larger than any individual role and the promise of ‘Ghostbusters 3’ is that we get to hand the equipment and the franchise down to new blood.”

Which is a nice way to say ‘we’re doing it with or without you’. Now we don’t want to see a Ghostbusters movie sans Murray, but we really hope that that statement might make him finally commit to the movie. Surely Murray wouldn’t want to see a Ghostbusters movie without Murray either!

It’s also worth noting (while we’re all here) that the rumoured ‘passing the torch’ storyline is very much set in stone now. Meaning Aziz Ansari might well be in the running! But what about our beloved characters themselves?

“My character, Ray, is now blind in one eye and can’t drive the Cadillac. He’s got a bad knee and can’t carry the packs… Egon is too large to get into the harness. We need young blood and that’s the promise. We’re gonna hand it to a new generation.”

Aykroyd then went on to reveal the “new generation” would comprise of three guys and a young woman. It’ll be interesting to see if the latter role goes to BUFFY/ANGEL star Eliza Dushku, who Aykroyd has previously cited as being perfect for the role.

All will (hopefully) be revealed next year, when, according to Aykroyd, the movie begins filming in the Spring.

Would you guys see a GHOSTBUSTERS 3 without Mr. Murray? Hell, do you even want a GHOSTBUSTERS 3 period? How about the New Generation storyline? Who would you like to see fill those roles? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter @Starburst_Mag