The most (only?) promising thing about the long-in-the-works Ghostbusters 3 might be no more.  A couple of weeks ago, after Ivan Reitman announced his intention to only produce the third Ghostbusters film and not direct, Phil Lord & Chris Miller were reported as being in talks to take the helm as Sony was looking to start production in early 2015.  This was incredibly exciting news, as the duo excel at turning seemingly bad ideas into great movies: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, and most recently The LEGO Movie.  The news also made sense, seeing as how Cloudy, Jump Street, and the impending 22 Jump Street were all made at Sony and Ghostbusters 3 would continue their relationship with the studio

However, just as we were settling into the exciting notion that Lord and Miller might work their magic on the Ghostbusters franchise, it sounds like it may have already vanished.  Hit the jump for more.

This afternoon, The Wrap reporter Jeff Sneider tweeted the following update re: Ghostbusters 3:

Hearing LORD & MILLER ended up walking away from GHOSTBUSTERS 3 job. They were the studio's choice but wanted to keep their options open...

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) April 7, 2014

@mjsamps They could very well return to GHOSTBUSTERS, I'm just told the studio is meeting with other directors now in case they don't...

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) April 7, 2014

If Sneider’s sources are solid, it sounds like Lord and Miller have moved on from the notion of directing Ghostbusters 3.  This is sad news for the Ghostbusters franchise, but not altogether disheartening.  Lord and Miller are on a fantastic roll right now, and if 22 Jump Street keeps their streak alive this summer, they’ll have significant clout to cash in and have their pick of the litter when it comes to their next project.

Yes, they likely would have turned the now-inevitable Ghostbusters sequel into a refreshing reboot of the franchise, but these guys are so talented that I’m almost more excited to see what the end result is when they tackle something wholly original.  The duo have yet to make any directorial commitments past 22 Jump Street (which they’re in post-production on right now).  Warner Bros. is moving forward on a LEGO Movie sequel, but they’ll only return as producers on the follow-up while animation co-director Chris McKay takes the helm.

While my interest in Ghostbusters 3 has now dropped considerably, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Lord and Miller as filmmakers.