For many years, Bill Murray has held out on the possibility of a third Ghostbusters movie without explaining why. In an interview with Variety, however, the veteran actor finally opened up as to the specific reservations he had over such a project.

Bill Murray
Bill Murray opened up slightly about the third Ghostbusters film and why he keeps holding out

The interview was conducted primarily to promote Murray’s upcoming comedy St. Vincent, but discussion turned to the Ghostbusters movie after it was announced last week that the much-loved ‘80s franchise will be returning for a third instalment with an all-female ghostbusting ensemble.

Murray said about the most famous rumoured plotline, which had his character Dr. Peter Venkman participating as a ghost haunting the three remaining Ghostbusters, “it was kind of funny, but not well executed”. There was another project penned by Dan Aykroyd, one of Murray’s co-star in the two originals, that posited the Ghostbusters team as travelling into an alternate dimension and fighting monsters in a parallel version of New York, called Ghostbusters 3: Hellbent. Murray said about that: “[it was] crazy bizarre and too crazy to comprehend”.

Aykroyd and director Ivan Reitman have been among those who have tried to persuade Murray of the project’s viability. But it seems that he’s never been wholly convinced that it would be good enough. He said in the interview: “Those guys, Danny and Harold [Ramis], were at the top of their game. They were burning nitro at that moment. Unless you have a really clear vision, you’re always trying to recreate that.”

More: Bill Murray set to sing Christmas carols on a seasonal TV special with Sofia Coppola

Insiders of the new project, which is helmed by Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, say that those involved would jump at the chance to hire Murray for involvement. But the 64 year old has a reputation as being one of the few actors in Hollywood who won’t do just anything for the money. If he stars in a film, it’s because he believes in the script.

If Murray ever does sign up for Ghostbusters 3, you can be pretty sure we’ll all be onto a winner.