Who ya gonna call (for Ghostbusters 3)? The directors of The Lego Movie apparently.
According to former Deadline Editor-in-Chief, Nikki Finke, (on Twitter), directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller are in early talks to direct Ghostbusters 3 after Ivan Reitman decided not to direct following the death of Harold Ramis less than a month ago.
With Ramis gone, we wondered if the project should even continue. Ramis was an integral part of the Ghostbusters story and it would be weird to have a movie that doesn’t have him in it. With no guarantee that the movie would be good, it seemed to be a project that maybe should just not happen.
But if Lord and Miller do sign on to direct, it’s a completely different scenario. The duo is three for three with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, and The Lego Movie, so they immediately inspire confidence. If there’s anybody who can take a project with history and turn it into something maybe even greater, it’s Lord and Miller.
Apart from the release of 22 Jump Street later this year, Lord and Miller do not have any big screen directorial projects in the works, so this could easily be something they could step right into.
The real interesting question here is, of course, star Bill Murray. As of now, Murray has not said he would come back for the threequel. Co-star Dan Aykroyd was among those attempting to convince him to return, but Murray apparently has not even responded.
If Ghostbusters 3 is indeed to happen, it really does need Murray to star. Hopefully all he’ll need is a reason to get excited about the movie; Lord and Miller could provide that excitement.