Ghostbusters 3 To Have Female Team Leader? Dan Aykroyd Dishes More on Project
The Guardian caught up with Dan Akyroyd who dished more news on the plot of the upcoming Ghostbusters game as well as the third installment in the film franchise including tidbits on the new team of ghostbusters and a female team leader.
The script being written by Office writers, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg has been tightly kept secret and the only thing we know is that there is the original four team members, a new team they will mentor and that latest installment will be more closely related to Aykroyd’s original vision of The Ghostbusters.
“There’ll be a whole new generation that has to be trained and a leader that you’ll all love when you meet her,” says Aykroyd. “There’ll be lots of cadets, boys and girls who’ll be learning how to use the neuron splitter and the inter-planet interceptor - new tools to enable them to slip from dimension to dimension.”
We heard a little over a week ago Aykroyd mention to the LA Times that there would be female ghostbusters and that he’d love to see Elisha Dushku and Alissa Milano in the film. I am totally down with Milano playing the new leader assuming that she signs up for the film and that’s the role she’d play. As far as the inter-dimensional plot elements i think it is great. I always imagined that the foursome of supernatural vigilantes Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore would advance their business into ghost busting after the second film because they saved Manhattan twice in big ways and that their adventures would expand beyond our dimension, space and time, which they hinted to with Vigo the Carpathian.
Interesting fact the original concept was inspired by Aykroyd’s own fascination with the paranormal and it was conceived as a vehicle for himself and friend John Belushi, fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus. The original story, as written by Aykroyd, was very different than what was eventually filmed. In that early version, a group of Ghostbusters travelled through time, space and other dimensions taking on huge ghosts (of which the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man was just one of many). Also, the Ghostbusters wore S.W.A.T.-like outfits and used wands instead of Proton Packs to fight the ghosts. Ghostbusters storyboards show them wearing riotsquad-type helmets with movable transparent visors. Ivan Reitman loved the idea but it was dismiised due to instant fear of a budget that was not acceptible. Ramis then joined Aykroyd on the rewrites.
I think it is cool the series is now fleshing out like Aykroyd wanted and with a headquarters and cadets this movie is starting to sound awesome.
