--- description: The writer and star doesn't want to stop with with sequel, he wants an entire Marvel-style world created for the infamous apparition hunters title: Ghostbusters Sequel: Dan Aykroyd Wants Entire Universe for Franchise image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt845e346450b7571f/6986a3e6cd6848113d096816/ghostbusters-ramis-aykroyd-murray.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Dan Aykroyd Wants to Create an Entire _Ghostbusters_ Universe by [Eric Dodds](/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 17, 2014 7:31 PM CUT  Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray in 'Ghostbusters.' Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray in 'Ghostbusters.'Archive Photos—Getty Images by [Eric Dodds](/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 17, 2014 7:31 PM CUT Is it possible we’ve been focusing on the wrong multi-platform franchises this whole time? Sure, there’s Marvel with its Avengers and _Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D._ and Iron Man. And there’s DC Comics with Batman and Superman and _Gotham_ and _Arrow_. They’re huge, ever-expanding franchises with billions of dollars in budgets and an impossibly deep wealth of source material. The problem is, none of them fight ghosts. The _Ghostbusters_ do, and Dan Aykroyd wants to make the [franchise as ubiquitous](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dan-aykroyd-wants-ghostbusters-become-733694 "undefined") as Marvel and DC Comics. In recent months, talk of a third film—[possibly with an all-female cast](http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/showbiz/movies/paul-feig-ghostbusters/ "undefined")—has ramped up, though director [Ivan Reitman dropped out back in March](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ghostbusters-reboot-ivan-reitman-as-689490 "undefined") shortly after the death of long-time collaborator Harold Ramis (Reitman is still signed on to produce). Aykroyd believes there could be much more to it than that though. “It’s beyond just another sequel, a prequel, another TV show. I’m thinking what does the whole brand mean to Sony?” he told _The Hollywood Reporter_ on Wednesday, adding that the goal should be, “not just another movie or another TV show, but what’s the totality of it? The whole mythology from the beginning of their lives, the end of their lives. _Ghostbusters_ at nine years old, _Ghostbusters_ in high school.” To die-hard _Ghostbusters_ fans, this probably sounds like a dream come true. On the other hand, die-hard _Ghostbusters_ fans are probably aware that this kinda-sorta already exists for the _Ghostbusters_. They have the two movies (and soon a third, possibly a fourth, if everything that’s been reported has any truth to it), they had a pair of animated television series (_The Real Ghostbusters_ and _Extreme Ghostbusters_) and still have a comic book series, along with a slew of video games. It’s unclear what other media Aykroyd hopes that _Ghostbusters_ will explore, or where he and Reitman would find the material to provide for an entire universe, complete with spinoffs. But there’s little denying that _Ghostbusters_ is big business (the two films did nearly $500 million total at the worldwide box office). Here’s to hoping that a [universe will capture Bill Murray](http://splitsider.com/2014/03/bill-murray-discusses-his-lack-of-interest-in-ghostbusters-iii-compares-it-to-going-back-to-high-school/ "undefined") in its grasp. \[[_THR_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dan-aykroyd-wants-ghostbusters-become-733694 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3393876/dan-aykroyd-ghostbusters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3393876/dan-aykroyd-ghostbusters/"},"headline":"Dan Aykroyd Wants to Create an Entire Ghostbusters Universe","datePublished":"2014-09-17T19:31:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:14:42.741Z","description":"The writer and star doesn't want to stop with with sequel, he wants an entire Marvel-style world created for the infamous apparition hunters","url":"https://time.com/3393876/dan-aykroyd-ghostbusters/","keywords":["movies","Ghostbusters"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt845e346450b7571f/6986a3e6cd6848113d096816/ghostbusters-ramis-aykroyd-murray.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Dodds","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-dodds/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt845e346450b7571f/6986a3e6cd6848113d096816/ghostbusters-ramis-aykroyd-murray.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray in 'Ghostbusters'","caption":"Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray in 'Ghostbusters'","creditText":"Archive Photos—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3393876/dan-aykroyd-ghostbusters/","name":"Dan Aykroyd Wants to Create an Entire Ghostbusters Universe"}}]}] ```