Dan Aykroyd has been looking to bring Ghostbusters 3 to life for over a decade, and real studio interest has picked up in the last few years. He’s got a script from The Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (which apparently Aykroyd is still working on) that would see the original cast handing their proton packs over to some fresh-faced spirit chasers that can really appeal to the kids, with their Twitter and their Justin Bieber. Alas, his good friend Bill Murray (who, I’m told, is also an actor of some repute) is dead-set on playing party-pooper. Today, in an interview with the Telegraph, Aykroyd briefly discussed the film and Murray’s assured absence.  Said Aykroyd:

“At this point it’s in suspended animation. The studio, the director Ivan Reitman and [co-star] Harold Ramis feel there must be a way to do it, but Bill Murray will not do the movie. He doesn’t want to be involved."

Hit the jump for more.

The quote continues at the Telegraph:

"[Murray's] got six kids, houses all over America. He golfs in these tournaments where they pay him to turn up and have a laugh. He’s into this life and living it. I know we’d have a lot of fun [but] I can’t be mad at him. He’s a friend first, a colleague second. We have a deep personal relationship that transcends business and he doesn’t want to know.”

The no-go is not terribly surprising given that Murray, who’s quite picky at the best of times (despite being in both big-screen Garfield flicks), is on record as a critic of Ghostbusters 2. Aykroyd confirmed that he thought about recasting Murray’s role of Peter Venkman, but, seriously, with who? Even then, what do you do about the retired and allegedly reluctant Rick Moranis? And Slimer who, as we all know, is an uninsurable Meth addict?

Nonetheless, Aykroyd offered some assurance to hopeful fans:

“We’re not going to do a movie that exploits the franchise. The script has to be perfect. I’m the cheerleader, but I’m only one voice in the matter. It’s a surety that Bill Murray will not do the movie, however there is still interest from the studio.”