‘Ghostbusters 3′ Plots 2015 Start, Loses Director Ivan Reitman
With the passing of Harold Ramis, we were hoping that it would also put to rest the possibility of a third 'Ghostbusters' film. But Sony announced that they are going forward with 'Ghostbusters 3,' and now director Ivan Reitman has clarified they plan to start within the next year, though he will no longer be on board as the director.
Talking to Deadline, Reitman notes that the film has gone through at least two completely different versions. The first was done by 'The Office' writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who were attached to the third 'Ghostbusters' film around 2009. Ramis, Reitman and Dan Aykroyd tweaked the Eisenberg/Stupnitsky version hoping to get Bill Murray attached, but at the time Murray dodged giving Reitman and Sony a yes or a no about the project.
It seems that version (one that likely focused on the four original Ghostbusters) was abandoned and since then Reitman and Aykroyd have worked on a completely different take with Etan Cohen, who co-wrote 'Idiocracy' and 'Topic Thunder.' Etan's not to be confused with Coen brother Ethan, nor with other non-Coen brother Joel Cohen, who provided the script for 'Garfield,' a project Murray signed on to because he thought it was written by a Coen brother.
Reitman will still be heavily involved in the third movie, but only as a producer. He expects production to begin in New York next year, as he said this:
I’m not going to say how many Ghostbusters there will be in the new cast, but we are determined to retain the spirit of the original film, and I am pleased that all of this seems to have happened organically. I’m hoping we can get started by the fall, set in New York, but given the logistics and the stuff that happens, the beginning of 2015 seems more likely.
With a early 2015 start it seems likely the film will be coming out in the summer of 2016.