“Ghostbusters” is a franchise with one of the most devoted fanbases in the world. 35 years after the original hit theaters, people still consider it one of the greatest comedies of all time and dress up, going to conventions to show their love of the film and universe. Actor-writer-producer Dan Aykroyd knows this, and he’s very much leading the way, publicly at least, with the ideas of expanding the “Ghostbusters” franchise.
And speaking to Canadian outlet 660 City News, Aykroyd talked about the state of the “Ghostbusters” franchise, including the 2016 reboot, the upcoming sequel, and plans for a 1969-set prequel. Lots of ‘busting in the future, that’s for sure.
But before he talked about the future, he made sure to explain his thoughts on the highly controversial, female-led reboot from a few years ago.
“I kind of got mad, but I realized I should have blamed myself as a producer, the costs were out of control, I should have been watching as a producer a little more, but you don’t dispute with your director,” explained Aykroyd.
He added, You hire a director, you trust a director, you trust their vision. But the job that Kate [McKinnon], and Kristen [Wiig], and Leslie [Jones], and Melissa [McCarthy] did and indeed Paul [Feig] did on that movie was superior, or superb. We would have done another one but, again, the cost overruns prevented the studio from looking at it and doing another ladies’ movie…”
But with the 2016 reboot not turning a profit at the box office, the studio (and Akroyd) looked to Jason Reitman, and a much lower budget (he says in the $30 million to $50 million range), to save the franchise. And so next year, Reitman brings a new reboot/sequel to the universe with a new cast (and maybe some familiar faces).
That being said, Aykroyd isn’t done with the universe building there. In fact, as he describes, the actor has a prequel idea in mind that he’s currently developing.
“Although I’ve written ‘Ghostbusters High,’ where they meet in New Jersey in 1969 and we’re looking to do that as probably a glorified feature or pilot within the next maybe five years…. And it would lead to a television project and I thought of him immediately for that,” said Aykroyd.
He continued, “It’s on [Reitman’s] desk but that’s years away from the current project. But it’s a neat idea for a prequel. Imagine casting the three characters as teenagers!”
And if the upcoming reboot-quel and potential prequel aren’t enough, don’t worry! Aykroyd has even more up his sleeve.
He revealed, “We have at least one or two other concepts for the ‘Ghostbusters’ and then we’ll look at doing the prequel, which will be a perfect button on all we’ve done up to that point.”
The upcoming “Ghostbusters” sequel arrives in theaters next summer.
