Dan Aykroyd has confirmed Ghostbusters 3 will go ahead without Bill Murray.
The Canadian actor is set to reprise his role as Dr Raymond Stantz in the highly-anticipated sequel to the cult hit 80s movie, and told Metro he is keen to begin filming as soon as possible, even if it means Bill will not return as Peter Venkman.
Bill Murray won't rejoin the franchise
Dan told The Metro: "I can tell you Bill won't be involved. It's sad but we're passing it on to a new generation.
"Ghostbusters 3 can be a successful movie without Bill.
"My preference would be to have him involved but at this point he doesn't seem to be coming and we have to move on. It's time to make the third one."
Sigourney Weaver said in an interview in September she would only join Ghostbusters 3 if Bill was returning too.
Dan admitted the project - thought to see the original Ghostbusters in a cameo role as they hand over their duties to a younger team - has been in the pipeline for a long time, but felt it was time to get the ball rolling.
He said: "Now we've got the studio on side. We've tried a few concepts which weren't right but now we've got a good structure and will make it happen.
"We've got a brilliant new writer on it and we'll be passing the torch on to a new generation.
"We're working on it to make it just right to satisfy our fans. I'm confident we'll be in production in the next year."