After decades of fans hoping we might still see a Ghostbusters 3 one day, a new movie Ghostbusters movie arrived in 2021 in Ghostbusters: Afterlife that included the return of all the original Ghostbusters, save the late Harold Ramis of course. This was then followed by a sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, where the original cast played an even bigger role. But if you’re looking forward to a third film in the new franchise that will once again bring back the original Ghostbusters cast, at least one of them doesn’t think it’s going to happen.
Speaking with the NY Post, Dan Aykroyd says he doesn’t expect to return for another Ghostbusters film. It’s not that he doesn’t think the movie will happen. Instead, he simply feels that it’s time for the new Ghostbusters cast to stand on their own, and he doesn’t think the franchise needs the help of the OG Ghostbusters anymore. He said…
I don’t see that coming. I don’t see where they would need us to carry it on. They’ve got a whole new cast, and they’ve got whole new ideas.
To be clear, there are no sour grapes in what Dan Aykroyd is saying here. He has no problem with the original cast being left behind. He specifically says that “advancing it beyond the originals” is what the franchise “should” do going forward.
As much as fans surely enjoyed seeing the Ghostbusters on the big screen again, Dan Aykroyd isn’t wrong here. At some point, the new franchise needs to stand on its own and not entirely survive on the nostalgia of the earlier films. Aykroyd is still a producer of the Ghostbusters franchise so he certainly knows whatever plans are being made for the future.
It’s unclear what the future plans for the Ghostbusters on the big screen are going to be. No third film has been officially announced, but the way Dan Aykroyd talks here it certainly sounds like there are ideas for future films, so that possibility exists.
Ghostbusters as a larger franchise is still clearly moving forward. A Ghostbusters animated series is in development at Netflix. It’s unclear if the series will follow the original Ghostbusters, the new generation of Ghostbusters, or a completely original crew.
Whatever the future of the Ghostbusters is, we’ve probably seen the end of the original characters’ time in the franchise. That’s likely ok. People still clearly like the Ghostbusters and will almost certainly like them in any incarnation. The franchise was one of the highlights at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Parks. The Ghostbusters aren’t going anywhere.