10 Awesome Versions Of Movie Sequels We All Wanted

While 1984's Ghostbusters remains one of the most beloved comedies ever, its 1989 follow-up Ghostbusters II has always been a bit more divisive. Though it was by no means a flop, many consider it a somewhat flat retread of the original - and unfortunately, one of the people who felt this most strongly was lead actor Bill Murray.

Even so, actor and writer Dan Akyroyd would not be dissuaded from pursuing a third film in the late 1990s. In cahoots with co-writer Tom Davis, Akyroyd produced a script entitled Ghostbusters III: Hellbent, which would have seen everybody's favourite New York parapsychologists literally go to Hell.

Akyroyd's intriguing concept feels like a precursor for the Upside Down of Stranger Things: Hell, rather than being some faraway underworld, is a different level of reality which exists around us at all times, unseen. The Ghostbusters would visit this parallel dimension, Manhellton, and battle a diabolical adversary modelled closely on that most notorious of New Yorkers, Donald Trump.

Alas, the only demonic dimension the Ghostbusters would end up in was Development Hell. The huge budget and Murray's refusal to commit meant the project repeatedly stalled, going through countless rewrites until the death of co-star Harold Ramis in 2014 saw director Ivan Reitman throw in the towel.

This led to Sony Pictures enlisting Paul Feig, who opted to go back to square one with his 2016 reboot... and we all know where we stand on that one by now.