3 Reasons Ghostbusters 3 Should Not Happen

ghostbusters echo 1

Ghostbusters 3 won’t die.

(This was written before it was announced to be a reboot with an all female cast)

Before going into why Ghostbusters 3 shouldn’t be made, I’m going to throw this out there. I. Fucking. Love. Ghostbusters.

As a kid, we all had a movie we watched religiously. For me, that was the original Ghostbusters.  I played that movie until the magnetic strip broke and the plastic casing warped. The movie had to be replaced In the 80s, movies were on long analog magnetic strips. This strip was encased in hard plastic and the format was known as “VHS tapes.”)

Not only did I watch the movie a gazillion times, my bedroom was wall to wall Ghostbusters. Toys, posters, stickers and other standard kid crap was everywhere. Not only was my room littered with the toys, the cereal was in the pantry and, after Ghostbusters 2 was released, religiously drank Hi-C’s Ecto Cooler.

ecto hi c
Diabetes not included.

I still have a stuffed Stay-Puft Marshmallow man and the Ghostbusters Video Game for the Xbox 360.  There are fans who can quote both movies and the cartoon line by line. That’s not me, but I Ghostbusters hold a special place to me. The franchise should be left alone. Allowed to age like a fine wine before the recipe is altered to the point it ages like vinegar.

Here’s why the third movie shouldn’t happen.

They Have No Director

Filming for Ghostbusters 3 starts in 2015.  That’s normally good news, but a movie needs at least two things. One important item would be a director. Ivan Reitman, who co-wrote and directed the first two films, decided to step down from the directors chair after the passing of Harold Ramis.  He’ll still be involved, but as producer..whatever the hell that means.  This is only a minor issue as directors are replaced fairly often. However, even the shittiest of directors still need a story to work with, but

There’s no script

I mentioned earlier you need at least two things for a movie. The first being a director, the second being the script. You know, the story. Crafting the story has been one of the reasons this movie has taken such a long time to produce. Whether you think the director or the script is more important doesn’t matter. What matters is you can’t put shit on a screen for two hours and expect it to make money.

The only plot point to be solidified is the original cast will be passing the torch down to a younger group of paranormal exterminators. That’s it. The last story line that remotely passed for a 3rd film was used for the Ghostbusters Video game. At least that project was able to get almost everyone from the first film, minus Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis to reprise their role. But getting the guys back together for a third film will be incredibly difficult because…

The Reunion Can’t/Won’t Happen

As I mentioned just five sentences ago, the only known plot point is the transition from the old cast to the new. In order to do that, the original cast has to be involved. Now, there’s a less than snowball’s chance in hell of that ever happening. Regardless of the weird process Bill Murray is about accepting acting jobs, a third Ghostbusters movie needs him as Dr. Peter Venkman. Murray is Venkman. The smart-assed quips and aloof attitude is what made the first two films enjoyable to begin with.

Even if Murray signed on, you’d be missing one of the original cast members. I know they’re all scientists man, but Egon was the brains of the operation. And since Harold Ramis passed away, (a sad, sad day) the third movie would still feel incomplete.

Ultimately

Ghostbusters as we’ve known it is done. There’s no need to pick up the partial pieces for a sub par film. The franchise started strong and ended on a good note with the video game. If Ghostbusters should ever see the silver screen again, it should be a reboot with brand new characters for a brand new audience. The next GB film should be fresh and relate to future generations of paranormal exterminators and not try to re-capture the magic of a film that is 30 years old.

"Talks about geek/nerd things, college football, and online marketing. I'm goofy and awkward. I try to wordsmith things."