With almost 30 twelvemonth fall between the 1989 release ofGhostbusters IIand this summer ’s reboot of the enfranchisement , it ’s easy to assume that Columbia Pictures was in no rush to bring the series back to theaters . But the truth is , after the sequel gross more than $ 200 million , the studio was dead - set on producing moreGhostbustersmovies . Unfortunately , a low USA of writer , conductor , and player could n’t get the project in front of cameras , entrust it to wallow in development snake pit for tenner .
Development hell is an ironic landing place spot for a continuation that was sic to take place in a mephistophelean version of Manhattan , befittingly called " Manhellton . “In a receiving set interview give in 2007 , Aykroyd said that not only would the Ghostbusters have really travel to Hell in a likely sequel , they would have met up with the daimon himself , who was to abide a striking resemblance to a certain presidential campaigner :
The Ghostbusters transported to Hell to do battle with a Donald Trump stand - in who also happens to be Satan himself ? Aykroyd could have no mind how prescient this script would be in 2016 as he was developing it throughout the 1990s and 2000s , but before he could make the Ghostbusters capital again , world set up in .
Before the word " reboot " was even on Hollywood ’s radar , the idea behind aGhostbusterssequel hinge on the original cast returning to reclaim their theatrical role . Well , another go - around with a proton face pack just did n’t interest star Bill Murray , who routinely twist down offers for another stab at the franchise .
“ Look , he was not interested in doing thesecondone,”Ghostbustersdirector Ivan Reitman saidin an interview withEntertainment Weekly . “ He does n’t really care the mind of sequel , and we were burdened with that at the start . We got close a few times . Bill keep flirting . ”
“ I never envy him not being in the third motion-picture show , though I write a nice part for him inHellbent , where the Ghostbusters go to hell , ” Aykroyd suppose in the same interview . “ He ’s begin very high criterion and a gamey bulls * * * detector . ”
That " bulls * * * detector " might have choke off once Murray actually sat down to learn Aykroyd ’s treatment for the book : " I read one that Danny save that was crazy outlandish and too disturbed to comprehend , ” Murray saidin an interview withVariety . “ It was kind of funny , but not well executed . " Murray ’s non - involvement was a huge obstacle for the casting , bunch , and studio to overcome , and it ’s one of the major culprits behind the 27 - year gap and eventual reboot .
Aykroyd and others kept plug away away , though , and throughout the nineties and 2000s , Hellbenttook on many forms . At one spot it was even go to have a unexampled generation of ' Busters that would bring a helping hand to the aging crowd — mayhap congeal up a new slating of sequels with a younger cast . In a reappraisal of the script , IGN gave a rundownof the diverse new breed of paranormal investigators :
There was even an idea thatHellbentwould really be the basis forum fourth or fifthGhostbustersmovie , with even more continuation descend before it .
Unfortunately , after long time of stalling and false starts , it was the 2014 decease of Harold Ramis that really snuff out the last gleam of Bob Hope that the original mold could descend together for one last adventure ( or maybe even two or three more ) . However , there is one place where a few morsel ofHellbentactually lived on : the television secret plan .
In 2009,Ghostbusters : The Video Gamewas released , and somehow Terminal Reality and Atari — the developer and publisher behind the biz , respectively — did what no billion - dollar mark moving picture studio apartment could : they managed to get Aykroyd , Ramis , Murray , and Ernie Hudson together to allow for the voices for all of their original characters . With a story credit to Aykroyd and Ramis , the game featured the evil Ivo Shandoropening up substitute dimensionsto cause havoc in Manhattan — a plot of ground stop that was set to be explored inHellbent .
In the destruction , Ghostbusters : Hellbentwas just one of many attempts to revive the dealership after the fiscal achiever ofGhostbusters II . Over the years , a handful ofGhostbusterscomic books , cartoons , and novel have acted as faker sequel for the enfranchisement , but none of them have quenched the thirstiness of devotee . There were even script other thanHellbentthat almost got produced — including one withbaby Oscar leading a raw contemporaries of Ghostbustersalong with the spectre of Peter Venkman — but the mavin never aligned by rights to get the projects off the soil .
After all of the behind - the - setting turmoil that engulfed the original casting and gang , maybe it ’s best to start over and let a new generation do what so many others have tried : make the Ghostbusters relevant again . At least that ’s what Sony is hop for as the newGhostbustershits theater this weekend .
