Even though Jason Reitman has only slightly teased what’s to come in the new Ghostbusters movie with a : 51 trailer, Dan Aykroyd is helping fill in the gaps. During a recent trip to Toronto, the veteran actor and star of the 1980’s films that started the franchise teased about what fans can expect from the new movie directed by original director Ivan Reitman’s son and what his ideas are for the future.
“Jason has written a beautiful script, I can’t say too much about it but it’s going to get made and hopefully there’ll be some familiar faces,” Aykroyd told The Canadian Press. “This just takes it to a new generation and a new direction that is so warm, heartfelt, and indeed, quite scary when you confront some of the issues that are being discussed.”
Aykroyd also gave insight into the budget, which he thinks will be under $100 million. The guesstimate comes after budgets on Paul Feig‘s female-led Ghostbusters film went reportedly well over budget.
“I don’t want to discount the work that the girls did with Paul Feig,” the former SNL star said. “I kind of got mad, but I realized I should have blamed myself as a producer. The costs were out of control, I should have been watching as a producer a little more, but you don’t dispute with your director.”
He added, “Now we’re going to do it in a sensible way. Costs will be under control and it’ll be brought in for a sensible budget without waste and that’s what’s important now in getting it made.”
Aykroyd, who played parapsychologist Ray Stantz in the original films, has ideas beyond Reitman’s 2020 release. He’d love to see the world expand into the past, seeing Ray and his fellow Ghostbusters in their younger years.
“I’ve written Ghostbusters High, where they meet in New Jersey in 1969 and we’re looking to do that as probably a glorified feature or pilot within the next maybe five years…. And it would lead to a television project and I thought of him immediately for that,” he explained.
“It’s on his desk but that’s years away from the current project. But it’s a neat idea for a prequel. Imagine casting the three characters as teenagers!”
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