Dan Aykroyd has hinted that Ghostbusters 3 will get made with or without Bill Murray.
The actor - who starred alongside Murray in the franchise's previous movies - suggested that the latest instalment will film in spring 2012 regardless of what casting decisions are made.
He told Coming Soon: "We will be doing the movie and hopefully with Mr Murray. That is our hope. We have an excellent script.
"What we have to remember is that Ghostbusters is bigger than any one component, although Billy was absolutely the lead and [contributed] to it in a massive way, as [did] the director and Harold [Ramis], myself and Sigourney [Weaver].
"The concept is much larger than any individual role and the premise of Ghostbusters 3 is that we get to hand the equipment and the franchise down to new blood."
Studio Sony reportedly put the development of the film on hold in January because Murray did not commit to reprising the role of Peter Venkman.
59-year-old Aykroyd added that the new script shows the original ghostbusting team haven't aged too well. He says: "My character, Ray, is now blind in one eye and can't drive the Cadillac. He's got a bad knee and can't carry the packs.
"Egon is too large to get into the harness. We need young blood and that's the premise. We're gonna hand it to a new generation."
Aykroyd added that he would be interested in seeing Matthew Gray Gubler - Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds - taking on a role in the new movie.
