Bill Murray Open To Appearing In Jason Reitman's New 'Ghostbusters' Sequel

For a long time, Bill Murray didn't really want anything to do with Ghostbusters 3. However, director Paul Feig was fortunate enough to secure his involvement (along with most of the rest of the original cast) for a cameo in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. And it sounds like if Jason Reitman wants Bill Murray to appear in the developing Ghostbusters sequel slated for 2020, all he has to do is ask.

IndieWire recently talked with Bill Murray following the Cannes premiere of Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy The Dead Don't Die, and during their conversation, he addressed why he held out from starring in Ghostbusters 3:

"We made this thing. We are the caretakers of it. It's a great thing and it was a really fun movie to make. It's a real movie with some really funny stuff in it. They're wonderful people. Danny [Ackroyd], Ernie [Hudson], Harold [Ramis], Rick Moranis, Annie Potts — they're some of the coolest people and they had real careers. They treat people well. They really understand what it is to be a movie actor. It's a complete collaboration.

The relationship you have with those people as collaborators is not necessarily the relationship I have with Sony. For years, they said, 'We can't make another "Ghostbusters" because Bill Murray won't change the deal he made in 1984.' Well, no, I never did. And you know what? They made the movie. You're the new guys, I'm the old guy. It was good enough for the other people so it's going to have to be good enough for you."

A lot of people think Bill Murray held out from Ghostbusters 3 because he wanted to distance himself from the past and maintain his current career path, but it comes down to being stubborn about his old deal from the original Ghostbusters, and you can't really blame him for that. Of course, it does seem a bit excessive if the rest of the creators are willing to make some changes, but that's show business for you.

So how did Ghostbusters: Answer the Call wrangle Bill Murray in for his cameo? He explained:

"I was in that movie just because they asked me, and I knew if I said no, I was saying I didn't support that movie. I felt like, OK, I'm going to support them because I support them as people. So I did that one and I would do this next one."

Hopefully Jason Reitman reaches out to Bill Murray to get him involved in the new Ghostbusters movie some way. We haven't yet heard about any of the old Ghostbusters coming back for this sequel, but new cast members Carrie Coon and Finn Wolfhard are said to be playing characters with some kind of mysterious connection to the original movies. Could they be related to one of the original Ghostbusters? We'll have to wait and see.

The new Ghostbusters sequel is slated for release on July 10, 2020.