After years of ifs, buts and maybes, the status of the third Ghostbusters film is finally in rude health, under the stewardship of Paul Feig and his all-female cast.
However, having spent several years working on a number of scripts, Dan Aykroyd is hopeful that some of his original ideas for a sequel could still come into play further down the track.
“There’s three drafts of the old concept that exists,” said Aykroyd on the Unmasked With Ron Bennington show. “And we’re going to be able to salvage some of it and use it. Yeah, we’re gonna be able to use it some day.”
“Let’s get this one made and that will reinvigorate the franchise and then we’ll go on to maybe doing a more conventional third sequel as we were planning and another idea I have for it.”
However, if that sounds as though Aykroyd is a little put out that Feig’s version has superseded his own, he goes on to scotch any such notion by pledging his support to the new film.
“I can tell you, as the originator, I’m very happy with what he’s done. It’s very tasteful. And it needed a reworking. The thing needed a new engine, you know? It needed new exhaust. It needed new steering. And this is what we’re getting.”
“The real reality in fact of the third movie with this tremendous cast of women… I’ve got three daughters, so I’m all for female empowerment... he establishes the voices beautifully in these characters. Now of course, he’s got masters playing the roles for him, so this is going to really work in our favour for the third movie.”
Co-starring Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Kristen Wiig, Ghostbusters will open in the US on 22 July 2016, with a UK date to be confirmed.
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