Dan Aykroyd Wants to Relaunch 'Ghostbusters' as a Marvel Universe-Style Franchise

By Alex Ritman

With talk of the long-awaited third outing of Ghostbusters still rumbling on and, more recently, rumors emerging of an all-female reboot, original co-creator and star Dan Aykroyd has revealed that he’s hoping for much more than just a one-off return.

Speaking in London where he was in town to promote his brand of Crystal Head vodka, the 62-year-old said that had been looking towards some of the bigger franchise models for guidance.

"It’s beyond just another sequel, a prequel, another TV show. I’m thinking what does the whole brand mean to Sony?" he said. "What does Pixar and Star Wars mean to Disney? What does Marvel?”

Aykroyd said that the entire Ghostbusters team — “the executives, the creatives, Ivan [Reitman, the director] and myself” — were now looking at the next 10 years. Earlier in year, Reitman exited the director’s chair for the planned 2015 return, although he is still lined up to produce.

He added that the focus must be “not just another movie or another TV show, but what’s the totality of it? The whole mythology from the beginning of their lives, the end of their lives. Ghostbusters at nine years old, Ghostbusters in high school.”

Using the Ghostbusters car Ecto as an analogy, Aykroyd said that the entire concept was now sitting in the garage without paint, wheels, a motor or transmission. “It’s up on blocks, it needs new electronics, new everything,” he said. “That’s what we have to do. The whole vehicle of Ghostbusters has to be rebuilt. That’s the ambitious thinking that’s going on now. Taking on the model of Marvel where we take all of the elements that are in this movie and we put them out there as different ideas.”

Aykroyd also added that he thought the idea of a female-led Ghostbusters was a possibility for the third or fourth film. “We need to write it,” he said though.

Photo: Columbia Pictures/Courtesy The Neal Peters Collection