This is the era of the delayed sequel. Following a tardy Indiana Jones 4and a belated Wall Street 2, it now seems that, 22 years after Ghostbusters 2, a third film in the comic horror cycle is about to creak into action.

Production Weekly,a responsible trade organ, declared: "We're hearing that Sony Pictures is planning to put Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters 3into production in May 2011." Dan Aykroyd, co-author of the script, has confirmed that the film will find the original team handing over the reins to younger replacements.

"My character's eyesight is shot, I got a bad knee, a bad hip – I can't drive that caddy any more or lift that psychotron accelerator any more – it's too heavy," Aykroyd said. "We need young legs, new minds – new Ghostbusters; so I'm in essence passing the torch to the new regime, and you know what? That's totally okay with me."