Ivan Reitman's Idea For The Future Of 'Ghostbusters'

Paul Feig's Ghostbusters: Answer the Call didn't perform quite as well as the folks at Sony would have liked last year, leading original Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd to call Feig out in a big way a few days ago and cast doubt on a sequel. But original Ghostbusters director and Aykroyd's Ghost House Pictures partner Ivan Reitman apparently doesn't have the same doom and gloom outlook, because in a new interview, he discusses his idea for the future of Ghostbusters.

In an interview with Super News Live (via The Playlist), Reitman said that he still wants to expand the franchise to include more members in countries around the globe and that he envisions the all-female squad joining up with the surviving members of the original cast:

"What we've been doing a lot of is thinking about the franchise rights for 'Ghostbusters.' Because 'Ghostbusters,' that idea doesn't have to just take place in New York, it can happen over the world. I think it would be really cool to see Korean ghosts or Chinese ghosts. All those great traditions in the world have all these tales and things those people are afraid of. To have a sort of local group of Ghostbusters that tie with the head office in New York would be fun."

"We're doing a lot of work about where do we go next with 'Ghostbusters.' I think one thing that fans have clearly wanted, and so did I, that somehow we tie the worlds together. I think it was a little awkward that it wasn't connected, and we certainly heard a lot from everybody out there. So I would definitely want to connect to all of that."

Yes, those references and nods to the original film definitely felt shoe-horned in (especially Aykroyd as the cab driver), but I wish these guys would just accept the idea that they don't need to include the original team members in a new movie. I'm on board with the first part of Reitman's idea: put Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, and Kate McKinnon back in the suits and let them run an NYC headquarters of the Ghostbusters where members and factions in multiple countries report back to them and their dimwitted secretary Kevin (Chris Hemsworth). Explore all sorts of different cultures' ghosts. Sure.

And I understand that this whole franchise stemmed from Aykroyd's brain back in the day, but at this point, I'm just sick of him trying to force himself back into the suit. It's clear he wants to have a starring role again as a Ghostbuster, but we've seen a lot of movies where aging actors trot out their familiar roles again, and it's rare that it works out for the best. Maybe Aykroyd should just stay behind a desk for this one and let a new generation don proton packs and hit the streets.

What do you think?