Dan Aykroyd Says He Doesn't Think the OG "Ghostbusters" Actors Will Continue in the Franchise: 'They Got a Whole New Cast'

11/17/2024 04:01 PM

"I think probably they're going to move on to advancing it beyond the originals, which they should," Aykroyd, 72, said

Dan Aykroyd doesn't see a future for himself in the Ghostbusters franchise. 

While speaking to The New York Post about his History Channel series The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd, the actor — who starred and co-wrote the original 1984 Ghostbusters movie — revealed he doesn't think he and former costar Bill Murray will return to the franchise.

"I don't see that coming," Aykroyd, 72, said. "I don't see where they would need us to carry it on."

The Saturday Night Live alum spoke optimistically about the future of the franchise, specifically noting the success of 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife and 2024's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, both of which starred Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Paul Rudd.

"They've got a whole new cast and they've got whole new ideas," he continued. "I think probably they're going to move on to advancing it beyond the originals, which they should."

Related: The Cast of Ghostbusters: Where Are They Now?

Aykroyd played paranormal investigator Ray Stantz in the original Ghostbusters film, hunting ghosts alongside fellow ghostbusters Murray, 74, Ernie Hudson, 78, and the late Harold Ramis, who died in 2014 at age 69.

The franchise welcomed an all-female reboot in 2016, starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones as the ghostbusters.

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In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE earlier this year, Aykroyd fervently defended the 2016 installment, which received mixed reviews at the time.

"I liked the movie [director] Paul Feig made with those spectacular women," he said. "I was mad at them at the time because I was supposed to be a producer on there and I didn't do my job and I didn't argue about costs. And it cost perhaps more than it should, and they all do."

"But boy, I liked that film," he continued. "I thought that the villain at the end was great. I loved so much of it. And of course, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones and Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, you're never going to do better than that. So I go on the record as saying I'm so proud to have been able to license that movie and have a hand and have a part in it, and I'm fully supportive of it, and I don't besmirch it at all. I think it works really great amongst all the ones that have been made."

Related: At 72, Dan Aykroyd Plans to 'Really Live' for His Children Now: 'I Want to Accomplish Their Happiness'

Aykroyd's latest project, The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd, recently returned to television on Nov. 15 for a second season.

"I'm back! The shocking ride continues," the My Girl actor wrote on Instagram ahead of the release. 

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The series explores "the strangest-but-true stories in human history, brought to life through dynamic recreation, compelling graphics, and arresting archival," per the show's official synopsis.

The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd airs new episodes on the History Channel every Friday at 9 p.m. ET.