Bill Murray has been the face of Ghostbusters, starring in the first two parts. However, the second part was also the reason why there was never a third one, even though it was successful.
Ghostbusters 2 was released in 1989 and cost about 25 million dollars. According to Box Office Mojo, the sequel grossed over 215 million dollars worldwide. This made the film a huge success for Columbia Pictures.
However, despite the success, there was no third installment in the series. Aside from TV series, the next part of the franchise only came in 2016 in the form of a reboot. After that, two new parts were released, in which Murray appeared as a cameo. You can currently see the latest installment in theaters. However, he never wanted to make a third part himself, as he revealed in an interview.
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What the hell is that?
In an interview with Collider, Bill Murray also spoke about Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2. Even during Ghostbusters 2, Bill Murray said he was somewhat reluctant to participate. He thought that the sequel was made just for the money. However, when the crew from the first part got back together, he had an incredible amount of fun.
We were really funny together. They are a few really wonderful, really funny guys and gals. Sigourney and Annie Potts are truly spectacular women and damn funny.
Bill Murray about the team at Ghostbusters 2 (via. Collider.com)
The story idea that was pitched to the team was said to be really good, which is why the entire team was on board for the second part. However, when the work on Ghostbusters 2 began, according to the interview, it was no longer the original idea. The team was lured to the set with false pretenses, only to find out that the actual idea was no longer there. At the first meeting, Murray is said to have reacted with What the devil is that? What is that thing?
Although the shoot was said to be incredibly fun again, it was mainly due to the other actors and the crew. This explains why Bill Murray, despite the success of the second part, was not involved in any third part, especially since he was not excited about the second part.
In this interview, the actor also talks about the cameos in the later Ghostbusters films and that he did it mainly because of the actors. He found the actresses of the reboot incredibly funny during the shoot. He also praises the legacy sequel from 2021 for its ideas and its proximity to the first film.
Bill Murray has starred in many comedies. One of them made it onto this list: He could be her father: 7 movie pairs with enormous age differences
