‘Men in Black III’ Writer to Tackle ‘Ghostbusters 3’

The will it or won't it game has not been as perplexing these days it has been for Ghostbusters 3. Star Dan Aykroyd has been the most vocal about the big-screen return of the Ghostbusters and seems to be the one most interested in doing it, whereas Bill Murray has been the biggest roadblock to getting it done, though he says the right script could persuade him.

On that note, we learned recently via Aykroyd that a new script was in the works, and now Variety reports that Etan Cohen, who wrote the once-troubled-but-turned-out-good script for Men in Black III, will try his hand at yet another three-quel for Sony.


Cohen, who also helped write Tropic Thunder, will take over for The Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who wrote the first version, which presumably didn't pass muster with Murray.

The hire makes a lot of sense on Sony's part. Cohen managed to turn a long-delayed second sequel in Men in Black III into a workable film, and "Ghostbusters" is a franchise that also deals with a professional team using technology (and humor) to keep in check an array of strange creatures (substitute ghosts for aliens).

If Cohen gets the job done, Aykroyd, Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson will return to their roles and pass the torch on to a new generation of Ghostbusters.

Cohen is currently working on his directorial debut, Boy Scouts vs. Zombies.