With the news that Harold Ramis died, many thought that would be the end of the long-gestating and perennially in-development Ghostbusters 3 (although Ramis’ long illness, which he hoped to recover from, may have been one of the reasons it hasn’t moved forward before now, as he would have been unable to participate).

However THR reports that Sony Pictures and director Ivan Reitman are still hoping to move forward with the movie, although there will now have to be a rewrite to take into account Ramis’ passing and the fact he will no longer he able to appear.

Last November it was reported  that Sony was planning to start production this spring in Cleveland, Ohio, although script issues had already pushed that back (you would think after more than five years they’d have something great by now). Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, have been working on the script, and will now have to make some revisions.

While it was believed Bill Murray had refused to return as Peter Venkman, some hope Ramis’ death might act as a catalyst to get him to change his mind. It’s also being suggested the other original stars may even be willing to take lower salaries in order to get the sequel off the ground.

For years now there have been rumours, plans and speculation about a third Ghostbusters movie, but the film has been constantly held up, largely due to Bill Murray’s reluctance to return. However while he recently finally decided not to be part of the movie at all, he did give the necessary permission for things to move forward without him (Murray, Da Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and director Ivan Reitman all have veto power over sequels).

Now, buried in a Deadline report about Reitman’s Kevin Costner starring film Draft Day being put on hold is the news that Ghostbusters 3 may finally shoot summer 2013. Draft Day was delayed because Costner is too busy on Paramount projects (Jack Ryan, Without Remorse etc.), and there won’t be time to shoot the movie before Sony hopes to get the proton pack back on next summer.

Assuming it all works out (which is a big assumption where this film’s rocky road to the screen is concerned) Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Sigourney Weaver are all coming back to teach a new generation of Ghostbusters the ropes of the profession.