Columbia Pictures Bill Murray may have opted out of Ghostbusters 3 (for now), but that doesn't mean the project is dead by any stretch.
In fact, his costar Dan Aykroyd told Esquire that he's thisclose to breathing life into the moribund supernatural comedy franchise without his fellow SNL alum reprising his hilarious role as Dr. Peter Venkman.
The reason? Not only do Aykroyd and director Ivan Reitman have "a script that we like" thanks to the new draft handed in by Tropic Thunder scribe Etan Cohen from a script by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, but the funnyman said Murray doesn't necessarily hold veto power over the project anymore.
"He abrogated his rights by sort of, by saying, two years ago he said, 'I don't want to be involved,'" Aykroyd told the magazine. "And the picture company I think had some clause in there that if he actually passed on the third or fourth offer, he no longer has a view of the franchise."
The self-proclaimed Ghostbusters 3 "cheerleader" added that the plot still hinges on the older Ghostbusters passing their proton packs to a new generation, and without or without Murray's participation, the pair remain good friends.
"We can't wait forever," Aykroyd said. "And now's the time to tell the picture company, and I'd say this quite publicly, it's time now to sit down and make this movie, or you will lose your main principals, and you won't be able to make it without us, because we have rights, and now is time to make the movie."
However, the comic actor, who plays Dr. Ray Stantz in the series, says that there will always be a place for Murray in the reboot should he have a change of heart.
"We'll always leave a hole for him. He's always there," added Aykroyd. "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 but creatively, he will always be a part of it."