Why there shouldn’t be a Ghostbusters 3 without Bill Murray
The long rumored “Ghostbusters 3” may finally be a reality if original series star Dan Aykroyd is to be believed.
In the past, the third film in one of Columbia Pictures most cherished franchises has been delayed because of Bill Murray. Murray’s contract dictates that he has to approve any script before a movie can be made. Unfortunately for fans, he’s never given his seal of approval to a script so that development can go forward. According to Aykroyd, the studio has gotten around this issue by writing Murray out of “Ghostbusters 3” altogether. A “Ghostbusters” film without Bill Murray is a “Ghostbusters” film that shouldn’t be made, plain and simple.
The three members of the original team all served very different and very important purposes. Each was very funny (thanks in large part to the actors that played them), but they all filled a role within the team dynamic. Egon was the team genius, responsible for designing the team’s equipment. Egon also got to provide a lot of the dry wit of the film. Ray was the “working man” of the team who just wanted to do the best possible job he could. Ray was also the “straight man,” who largely played off of the other two members. Bill Murray as Venkman was responsible for all the one-liners and laugh out loud moments that people remember. Removing any one of those three parts would throw off the dynamic in a way that would be difficult to recover from. The dynamic is thrown off even more by losing Murray, who was the funniest member of the original film and its star.
Bill Murray had all the best jokes in the first two “Ghostbusters” movies. Most of the lines that people quote from “Ghostbusters” to this day came from Bill Murray. He was the only character that actually got to do anything besides ghost hunting, as evidenced in his relationship with Sigourney Weaver. Removing Bill Murray from the equation removes a large part of what made the original film (and to a lesser extent, its sequel) enjoyable in the first place.
Bill Murray is also responsible for many of the best jokes that Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis had, too. Think back to the original “Ghostbusters.” Try to remember a funny line or funny scene that involved Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. Every single scene that those two are actively funny in involves them playing off of Bill Murray in some capacity. Egon never would have said the funny line about drilling a hole in his head if Venkman hadn’t reminded him. Ray conjuring up the Marshmallow Man out of his memory wouldn’t be as funny if Venkman hadn’t yelled at him for it. There are very few jokes in the first “Ghostbusters” that don’t involve Bill Murray in some way, even if his character isn’t actually the one delivering a line.
Removing Bill Murray from “Ghostbusters 3” effectively cuts out the heart of the franchise. If the producers of “Ghostbusters 3” can’t get Murray to sign onto a sequel, the franchise is best left dormant.
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