By Mark Langshaw, Source Digital Spy.com
Bill Murray will not be involved in the proposed Ghostbusters 3, Dan Aykroyd has confirmed.
Aykroyd, who co-wrote and starred in the previous films, told The Daily Telegraph that the project remains in “suspended animation”.
He said: “The studio, the director Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis feel there must be a way to do it, but Bill Murray will not do the movie.”
The actor went on to say that he does not resent Murray for his decision not to appear in the film, describing him as “a friend first, a colleague second”. Aykroyd previously rubbished reports that his former co-star shredded the Ghostbusters 3 screenplay.
“He doesn’t want to be involved. He’s got six kids, houses all over America. He golfs in these tournaments where they pay him to turn up and have a laugh. He’s into this life and living it. I know we’d have a lot of fun [but] I can’t be mad at him,” he added.
“He’s a friend first, a colleague second. We have a deep personal relationship that transcends business and he doesn’t want to know.”
However, Ghostbusters 3 is not officially dead. Aykroyd confirmed that there is still studio interest in the project, and assured fans that he would not agree to anything that “exploits” the series.
“We’re not going to do a movie that exploits the franchise. The script has to be perfect. I’m the cheerleader, but I’m only one voice in the matter. It’s a surety that Bill Murray will not do the movie, however there is still interest from the studio,” he said.
Last year, Aykroyd insisted that Ghostbusters 3 was reliant on Murray’s participation.
