It has been a whopping 13 years since Dan Aykroyd wrote an early draft for Ghostbusters 3, which would eventually transform into the version penned by “Office” writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky about a new generation of ‘busters. Over the past few years the Columbia-produced sequel has hit snag after snag, leading up to various internet rumors surrounding Bill Murray. The fact is, he’s too busy with life to star, and Aykroyd respects that…

“I honestly don’t know. At this point it’s in suspended animation,” Aykroyd tells the Daily Telegraph in response to . “The studio, the director Ivan Reitman and 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. He’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.”

He’s recently begun to consider recasting Murray’s role with another actor. It’s also been suggested that he could return as a CGI ghost…

“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.”

The article visually described Aykroyd’s look as “pained.” Hopefully they can just suck it up and move on without Murray, or at least officially can the sequel so we can stop speculating.