Ghostbusters Wiki

Until May 22, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire content will be handled by the administrators. For more detailed information about this, please check out the Spoiler Policy.

READ MORE

Ghostbusters Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Ghostbusters Wiki


Ghostbusters 3: Hellbent is an unused script written by Dan Aykroyd and Tom Davis. [1]

It is not to be confused with the cancelled Ghostbusters III or the upcoming Ghostbusters (2020 Movie).

Development

Note: Approximately between 1994 to 2007, this version of Ghostbusters III was in development and such then in 2008, the Eisenber-Stupnitsky drafts began.

Between February 7 to the 12, 1994, Dan Aykroyd appeared on WWOR Channel 9 News. When asked about doing another movie, he responded he had a story in mind he was thinking about but a factor was getting the others together again.[2]

In 1996, Harold Ramis mentioned Aykroyd was writing a script with "a whole new, younger, and probably much more handsome team," and likened it to 'Ghostbusters: The Next Generation' and at some point, a first draft was done with Chris Farley and Will Smith in mind as two of the new Ghostbusters.[3][citation needed]

In early 1998, John Calley, then the head of Sony Pictures Entertainment, reportedly had a Ghostbusters sequel among his plans for the studio.[4][citation needed]

On February 10, 1998, Aykroyd commented he and Harold Ramis had a treatment but admitted Bill Murray and Ivan Reitman weren't interested.[5]

In Summer of 1998, it was reported the plot concerned Egon and Ray's attempts to continue the business after Peter leaves, and that the main villain might be Hades, the Greek god of the underworld.[6][citation needed]

On August 14, 1998, it was reported Aykroyd and Ramis were working on a screenplay.[7]

On January 27, 1999, Ramis confirmed Aykroyd was writing a sequel, done two versions of it, but likened it more to a hobby. He speculated a new movie would have any original cast members "as mentors to a new, young cast."[8][citation needed]

On July 30, 1999, Reitman commented he would probably only produce the movie.[9]

On November 12, 1999, Aykroyd commented the chances of the movie seemed slim and attributed it to Sony trying to make too many "bargains".[10]

On November 17, 2005, Ramis mentioned they had Chris Farley, Chris Rock, and Ben Stiller in mind to play three of the new Ghostbusters.[11]

On February 1, 2007, Aykroyd mentioned they were looking into making the story into a CG animated movie.[12]

On December 4, 2012, Aykroyd displayed interest in using the Manhellttan idea for a fifth or sixth Ghostbusters movie. [13]

On April 28, 2016, Aykroyd wrote in his "The Ghost Writer" piece in the June 2016 issue of Empire that he wanted Alec Baldwin to play the villain. [14]

Plot

During the 1990s, Aykroyd wrote a script for a potential third film in the series. The concept reportedly would have the characters transported to an alternate version of Manhattan called Manhellton, where the people and places are hellish versions of their originals and they meet the devil.

Dan Aykroyd, as quoted by Hollywood Online on February 10, 1998:

"The concept is that there's a positive image of life and there's a negative image of life. Hell is not some distant place, far away from this dimension or realm. Hell is right next door. It's like those old tintype photos where you turn them one way and they look positive, then you just flick them slightly and they look negative. That's our concept. Given the right technology you could flip the switch and all of a sudden the positive that we see in this room suddenly becomes negative. It's kind of neat."
"We're going to set it in New York and do a Hades version of New York, very close to life in the city as we perceive it now. You look down at the river and there's a ferry of Wall Street commuters, except they're being shoved off with pitchforks into the river which is now boiling blood. Flick it back and it's just the Brooklyn Bridge and just a normal traffic jam."
1989 converted Cadillac, Ecto-12[15]

Taken from Daily Sci-Fi "Movies: Bustin' Out" March 4, 1999

"It's the early 21st century, and they're retired. Hell gets filled up, and all other damned souls begin to roam the earth, unleashing a poltergeist plague. So, they come out of retirement...passing the torch to some younger, slimmer guys."[16]

Review comments from ProtonCharging.com:

"After all these years, Aykroyd has made Ghostbusters a full blown corporation, with dozens of employees, including mechanics to look after the fleet of converted ambulances; one scene echoes the shot of the Ecto-1 driving across the Brooklyn Bridge, only this time there's a whole line. They've also built themselves the Ecto-50, a converted truck with (if I understand correctly) its own Containment Unit. Winston is in fact a doctor, but it doesn't feel quite right, as if the normal guy we identified with was now indistinguishable from the rest of the team - having him working on his degrees would have been cool, while still keeping him a tad more down to earth than Egon and Ray. Venkman is noticeably absent for most of the movie, a concession I'm assuming to the fact that Murray didn't want to do another GB installment." [17]

Taken from MovieChronicles.com:

“We go to the hell side of Manhattan, downtown, Foley Square. It’s all where the cops are–they are all blue minotaurs. Central Park is this huge peat mine with green demons there, surrounded by black onyx thousand-foot high apartment buildings with classic red devils, very wealthy. We go and visit a Donald Trump-like character who is Mr. Sifler. Luke Sifler. Lu-cifer. So we meet the devil inside” [18]

Taken from IGN FilmForce July 30, 2002:

"Bill Murray/Peter Venkman doesn't appear until the end and then it's only a cameo (he's portrayed in a way you've never seen before, which was the script's most memorable gag). There's also no sign of Sigourney Weaver's character Dana nor is there any mention of her kid Oscar (remember him?), who you'd think might be included among these new, younger GBs given his importance in the last film."
"Ray (Aykroyd), Egon (Ramis), and Winston (Ernie Hudson, now referred to as "Dr. Zeddemore") have prominent supporting roles here. (Louis Tully and Janine have cameos.)"[19]

Taken from In Focus November 2005

"So all the Ghostbusters would need to do [to go to Hell] is take themselves "out of phase" one beat. And we create a device to do it, and it's in a warehouse in Brooklyn. And when we step out of the chamber, it looks just like New York -- but it's Hell. Everything's gridlocked -- no cars are moving, no vehicles are moving, and all the drivers are swearing at each other in different foreign languages. No two people speak the same language. It's all the worst things about modern urban life, just magnified."
"And Heaven was across the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey -- which was irony. The Ghostbusters had to make this journey from lower Manhattan to the George Washington Bridge."
"There was a good structure -- because some of us were in Hell, while some of us were in the real world, tracking our journey through Hell. We had new Ghostbusters and old Ghostbusters."[20]

Taken from CISN Country 103.9 with Dan Aykroyd February 1, 2007

"And if you can basically, build a phase - an interdimensional phase system, so that you can go from one dimension to another, we've succeeded in doing that, and we go to the Hell side of Manhattan."[21]

Cast

Script Writer

Characters

New Ghostbusters

  • Franky
    • a body-pierced, tough New Jersey punker [22]
  • Lovell
    • a dread-locked dude. [23]
  • Moira
    • a pretty but uptight gymnast and science grad. [24]
  • Carla
    • a Latino beauty. [25]
  • Nat
    • a prepubescent genius whose powerful brain has made his head abnormally large. Despite his youth, Nat serves as a supervisor for the new GBs. That's all we ever get to know about these characters. [26]

Returning Ghostbusters

Villain

  • Mr. Luke Sifler, the Lord of Hell. [32] [33]

Comic Book Pitch

In the 2010s, Tristan Jones pitched a comic book adaptation to IDW Publishing several times but it was not greenlit.[34][35] IDW discussed the pitch with Sony but several factors like the passing of Harold Ramis and Sony and Ghost Corps' new priorities sidelined it.[36]

See Also

Trivia

  • On the Regular Cover of Ghostbusters International #11, there are several references to Hellbent:
    • In the bottom right, Luke Sifler is referenced.
    • In the bottom center, Manhellton is referenced.
    • The hellish landscape is an homage to the concept outlined in the Hellbent script.

External Links

References

  1. Esquire Dan Aykroyd Interview 12/4/12
  2. Spook Central recording of WWOR Channel 9 News February 1994 Dan Aykroyd says: "Ah, it might happen. I've got a story in mind that I'm thinking about. So, we'll see, we'll see. It's certainly something I always wanted to do. It's just getting the other players together."
  3. Vulture "A Roundup of Every Ghostbusters 3 Rumor From the Past 25 Years" 8/7/14 of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Busters May Be Back" circa 1996
  4. Vulture "A Roundup of Every Ghostbusters 3 Rumor From the Past 25 Years" 8/7/14 of TIME Magazine circa 1998
  5. Hollywood Online "Dan Aykroyd Turns From "Blues Brothers" to "Ghostbusters"" 2/10/98 Dan Aykroyd says: "We got a treatment. Harold and I have a treatment that we really like, and it's just a matter of writing it now. We're, probably, gonna try to do that this Summer. Billy doesn't want to do it, and neither does Ivan Reitman, but the concept is still strong and I think Harold and I can pull it off if we have the time."
  6. Vulture "A Roundup of Every Ghostbusters 3 Rumor From the Past 25 Years" 8/7/14 of Cinescape circa Summer 1998
  7. Spook Central Facebook recording of Sci-Fi Channel's "Sci-Fi Entertainment" 8/14/98
  8. Spook Central Archived Ghostbusters III - Cinescape "Ramis Debunks 'GB3' Rumors" 1/27/99
  9. Sony Ghostbusters.com Interview 7/30/99 Ivan Reitman says: "We have talked about doing "Ghostbusters 3", but nothing is set. If we were to go ahead with the project, I would probably produce the film, not direct it."
  10. Spook Central Facebook recording of Access Hollywood 11/12/99 Dan Aykroyd says: "Because they're trying to get bargains, they're trying to get the next Blair Witch. But, you know, sometimes you have to seed for the big harvest to come in."
  11. Ain't It Cool News 11/17/2005 Harold Ramis says: " And this was so long ago, we were thinking Chris Rock, Chris Farley and Ben Stiller taking over. That would have worked."
  12. CISN Country 103.9 with Dan Aykroyd 2/1/07 Dan Aykroyd says: " Now it won't happen as a live action 'cause Billy will not come onto the live stage anymore for it, but he will voice his part, and we're looking to do it as a CGI animated project."
  13. Esquire Dan Aykroyd Interview 12/4/12
  14. Aykroyd, Dan (2016). Empire Magazine, p. 69. Bauer Media Group, Harborough, Leicester, United Kingdom, ISBN 1234567890. Dan Aykroyd writes: "The villain was based on Donald Trump. I wanted Alec Baldwin to play him, the devil in a thousand-foot tall black onyx tower overlooking the hell-pit mine of Central Park."
  15. Spook Central Archived Ghostbusters III News
  16. Spook Central Archived Ghostbusters III News
  17. Proton Charging Ghostbusters 3
  18. Ghostbusters Movie Chronicles
  19. IGN Film Force "The Stax Report: Script Review of Ghostbusters 3: Hellbent!" 7/30/02
  20. In Focus Magazine 11/2005
  21. CISN Country 103.9 with Dan Aykroyd 2/1/07
  22. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  23. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  24. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  25. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  26. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  27. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  28. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  29. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  30. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  31. http://movies.ign.com/articles/366/366119p1.html
  32. http://ghostbusters.moviechronicles.com/
  33. http://www.ectozone.com/gbtimeline/03.php
  34. Ghostbusters Fans Tristan Jones post 3/12/16Tristan Jones says: "Tried pitching it, several times. Got pretty much ignored at every turn."
  35. Ghostbusters Fans Tristan Jones post 3/13/16Tristan Jones says: "I'd love to do it, but I tried pitching it so many times that I'm not doing it again."
  36. Ghostbusters Fans Tom Waltz post 3/14/16Tom Waltz says: "We've discussed it a bit with Sony in the past but unforeseen circumstances (not the least of which was Mr. Ramis' tragic death) sidelined the idea as newer priorities within the brand (both at Sony and IDW) took center stage."


Gallery

Secondary Canon

Advertisement