The ghost of Ghostbusters is one of the strangest and most unique specters haunting post-80s popular culture: it’s like that one perfect relationship we’re doomed to never get over and constantly long to recreate. Should a Ghostbusters 3 even be attempted? Probably not, but let’s get serious: it’s going to happen, no matter what. With that in mind, I’ve dug through Tobin’s Spirit Guide, Zundinger’s Magicians, Martyrs, and Madmen, plus my own headbox to come up a few ways of crafting the perfect Ghostbusters 3.
8. Feature hot comedians as the new Ghostbusters.
Casting popular and genuinely hilarious people in a new Ghostbusters is absolutely the best way to go. Here’s my short list of people who could/should populate a new busting team: Jesse Eisenberg, Andy Samberg, Owen Wilson, Amy Poehler, Tracy Morgan, Rashida Jones, Richard Ayoade, Michael Cera and Melissa McCarthy. Making sure we’ve got some female Ghostbusters this time out is essential, and what’s most important of all is that the movie features genuinely funny people doing what they do best. The original films work on the inexplicable magic of those four guys looking like they somehow belong together. THIS CANNOT BE RECREATED. Therefore, the sequel shouldn’t try to look back, and instead bank on fresh, contemporary talent.
7. Appoint Winston as the captain of a new team of Ghostbusters.
So, if having hot, young, funny actors as a new Ghostbusting squad sounds a little like your stereotypical, cynical Hollywood move, how do you appease the old fans? Have all the Ghostbusters back? Well, maybe—but we’ll get to that in a second. If you want to see those actors appear in anything more extensive than a cameo, realistically, Ernie Hudson has aged the best. Of the four original ’busters, Winston would be great in some kind of administrative role, in a revamped Ghostbusters corporation. Winston Zeddemore is the pragmatic, working-class Ghostbuster, which means he knows how to get things done in real-world kind of way—making him an ideal choice to be the sort of “Captain” of the new squad. Think of Ghostbusters 3 kind of like Torchwood (but with straight-up comedy), and Winston as Captain Jack.
6. Set the movie in the future.
Dan Aykroyd’s original concept for Ghostbusters was much more heavily based on a science fiction premise and was to feature a futuristic world where both ghosts and Ghostbusters were commonplace. While the film eventually went in a more relatable direction, the idea of setting a new Ghostbusters in the future could be fun; I’m picturing a near-future New York City, filled with futuristic technology. A premise like this would allow the writers to get away with certain narrative conceits about massive monster/ghost attacks which have taken place in the past. Maybe this version of the world has been ravaged by ghosts and monsters, meaning a new team of ’busters needs to rise up from that old firehouse and spring into action. It would be a radical departure, but if done with the right amount of pluck, it could work. Most importantly, it would feel new.
5. Actually tackle the metaphorical significance of ghosts.
One thing about the ghosts in the existing films is they don’t really carry the same narrative weight that ghosts do in proper ghost stories. Essentially, the ghosts in Ghostbusters could just as easily be monsters or aliens. For example, the idea that Slimer is the ghost of someone who died is never explored (famously, Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd have claimed he’s supposed to be the ghost of John Belushi, although the scant biographical information on Slimer that is provided in related material surprisingly makes Slimer specifically someone else). Sure, Vigo was the ghost of Vigo the Carpathian in Ghostbusters 2, but the notion that ghosts are real people from the past is never explored or even addressed for longer than a second. It could be fun to see the new Ghostbusters bust the ghosts of famous dead people—the cartoon version of the show actually dealt with this a few times, with surprisingly thoughtful results.
4. Film in Awesome New York City Locations
Ghostbusters 3 simply must take place in New York City, or it just won’t work. The original Ghostbusters is a classic New York film, up there with Woody Allen’s Manhattan or Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Previous Ghostbusters outings have prominently featured Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, City Hall, and, of course, the New York Public Library. So, how about having a ghost shoot-out in the Guggenheim? Or an awesome, spooky chase scene across the Brooklyn Bridge? Here, I think Ghostbusters 3 could take a cue from Doctor Who’s “The Angels Take Manhattan” and really showcase the flashy 21st-century New York through a fun science fiction lens.
3. Include a genuinely touching love story (maybe with a ghost?)
We don’t want to throw out everything that was great about the original Ghostbusters movies—particularly the element of romance. The awkward and befuddled love between Dana Barrett and Peter Venkman is totally essential to the two previous films, grounding both movies and serving as the real heart behind all the humor and action. Without this kind of stuff, the movie could easily get bogged down by its own goofy premise. So, a new Ghostbusters would also need some kind of love story. Having a romance between one of the new Ghostbusters and a civilian again would be nice; or maybe a flirtation between two of the new Ghostbusters? But perhaps the riskiest (and potentially interesting) option would be for a Ghostbuster to fall in love with a ghost!
2. Make at least one of the ghosts truly scary.
Any sequel to Ghostbusters 2 will need to make sure that some (or at least one) of its lead ghosts/demons/spooks/specters are actually frightening. When the monster hands pop up out of Dana’s couch in the first film, it’s totally freaky. To this day, I still jump when Vigo shoots those bolts out of his eyes at Janosz (not to mention the creepy Janosz flying ghost nanny!) If this means bringing in vampires, werewolves, and other traditional scary monsters, go for it. If it means employing newish creepy talking skeleton ghouls, or whatever—fine. Essentially, the horror elements in Ghostbusters need to be scary enough to frighten (but not traumatize) the children who desperately want to see the movie, so we’re not talking Prometheus-level grotesque, just plain spooky. If you’re not scaring some kids (while simultaneously confusing them with odd, irreverent humor), then you’re not making a real Ghostbusters movie.
1. Have Bill Murray and other Ghostbusters appear as ghosts.
The nerd rage monster that lives inside of you (and is still pissed off that Hi-C discontinued Ecto-Cooler in the 90s) is probably saying NO WAY. DON’T MAKE GHOSTBUSTERS WITHOUT BILL MURRAY. And yet, it’s possible that this will happen. In any case, save for maybe Winston, I think that the original Ghostbusters should only appear AS GHOSTS. If Bill Murray signs on to appear in the movie in a larger capacity, having him play a sarcastic, deadpan ghost-Venkman who is constantly giving unsolicited advice to the new Ghostbusters (and/or Winston) could be comedy gold. Plus, Venkman could have some ulterior motive for helping the new Ghostbusters. Maybe he wants to come back to life? Maybe he just wants his own place to haunt, where he can endlessly flirt with people? His own talk show again? There are all sorts of angles to take if you reimagine the old Ghostbusters as ghosts, particularly if this were combined with the futuristic New York City premise. Maybe in this future, Venkman’s World of the Psychic is a TV show hosted by ghosts!
No matter what, one of the original ’busters must appear as a ghost. It’s the best way to directly deal with the fact that a ton of time has passed since the last two films—and also acknowledge that Ghostbusters itself has been gleefully haunting pop culture over the last three decades with its wit, originality, and snappy theme song.
Ryan Britt is a staff writer for Tor.com and sleeps on a genuine 1980s Ghostbusters pillowcase that used to glow-in-the-dark.
If they hired hot comedians and comedic actors to be in the film, then it’d be best to hire a director to reign them in, lest the movie turn into a 2-hour Apatow-esque improv show. The beauty of the original is that, while the actors play to their strengths, Ivan Reitman knew when to move on, and what to cut out.
Great Post. I really hope some studio exec sees this… IMHO you are totally right on all counts. I only imagine the movie with one change, base Ghostbusters 3 in a world that hasnt seen a ghost since the last movie but someone figures out how to bring back a truly evil ghost – who of course wants to take over NYC and brings a bunch of other ghosts back with him. Thus, the ghostbuster need to be reassembled. I really like the idea of a ghost/ghostbuster relationship… it could give the movie a tragic spin with this conflicted ghostbuster who is not sure he/she really wants to send all the ghosts back to wherever they came from.
Still I kind of find myself wishing that they dont do a Ghostbusters 3. It will be so hard to get the mix of humor with a little bit of love story and horror movie right. I will be amazed if it turns out good.
Great article! Great ideas, but all I can picture now is the following exchange:
Winston walks in on Egon talking to a new employee…
Winston: “Hello, I’m Winston.”
Egon: “Stop it!”
I always felt that the Ghostbusters should have expanded into a franchise. The animated series often had the team traveling to some other city or country to bust ghosts there, so clearly they’re a global phenomenon. So why not establish a worldwide service? It might be interesting to show that by today, the Ghostbusters have expanded into a global conglomerate. I like the idea of Winston running the show, but maybe Egon and/or Ray could be the tech department, innovating new ghostbusting methods to be distributed to the franchisees.
Indeed, maybe that’s your story. What is all this worldwide capturing and containing of ghosts doing to the cosmic balance? Could the Ghostbusters’ own success be the source of the danger?
Make Tina Fey a ghostbuster and I’m there!
Hey, I spotted a typo in your story (sorry!). After “genuinely hilarious people” you put “Andy Samburg.”
One of the rumored stipulations Murray has put on any script is that Venkman must be dead, so if they are ever able to get him on board, your wish should be granted.
Melissa McCarthy would be awesome too. I read an interview years ago with Eliza Dushku, who’s friends with Ackroyd, where she said that she’d loved to be in it if it’s ever made.
Nice thoughts, but looking at the last few years of cinema I can make some much more reliable predictions about how it’s actually going to turn out.
Ghostbusters 3 will be grim. And dark. And grim. The Ghostbusters will be driven, tortured souls, on the brink of madness. And grimness. And darkness. There will be no jokes. There will be no disco music. Think “Ghostbusters Begins”.
Ghostbusters 3 will involve a main character whose entire life has been shaped by his bad relationship with an absent or unaffectionate father.
Ghostbusters 3 will be three hours long.At least.
The city will look up and scream “Who you gonna call?” And I will look down and whisper “…Not me.”
@a1ay
You just made my whole week.
The thought of Owen Wilson and/or Michael Cera in Ghostbusters fills me with as much dread as the thought of Ben Stiller in Ghostbusters. Dear god, no. Please…do whatever you want to me but don’t hurt my Ghostbusters.
I’m honestly torn about a third movie at this point. The Video Game was disappointing as all hell. The current comic series is fun as all hell. I’m afraid that with the current state of comedy movies that GB3 would go all to hell. I keep waiting on a reboot instead, where we get Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and probably Craig Robinson. And it will be Ben Stiller as Ben Still in Ben Stiller Busts Ghosts. And it will be awful. And there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky, rivers and seas boiling, 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes, the dead rising from the grave, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!
Most of the points are spot on otherwise though. I just don’t think this is gonna work as a sequel. It’s gonna be a reboot and it’s gonna be for the new generation that loves shit like The Hangover and I’m gonna roll around frothing at the mouth and then go read the comic because it’s actually good and manages to capture the spirit of the movies and the cartoons and expand on the universe and be fun at the same time.
Including some of the ghosts from Harry Potter would be a nice touch, including John Cleese with his brilliant comic timing. If the budget allowed, Harry, Hermione and Ron with their wands would be a nice touch and make it accessable to the new generation of kids.