Dan Aykroyd hopes to hand off the "Ghostbusters" torch to a new generation soon, or extinguish it. | Credit: Rex/AP Photo

Now or never. Dan Aykroyd, the self-proclaimed "cheerleader" behind a long-brewing attempt to get the Ghostbusters franchise back into theaters, sat down with Esquire for a lengthy and candid interview this week regarding the status of "Ghostbusters 3."

The bottom line? Time is running out.

Addressing the studio heads at Sony, Aykroyd said that it's "time now to sit down and make this movie, or you will lose your main principals, and you won't be able to make it without us, because we have rights, and now is time to make the movie."

He suggested that if the film were not green-lit within "three or four months," the deal would be off the table.

The rights to the Ghostbusters franchise are in part-owned by Sony, Aykroyd, director Ivan Reitman, co-writer Harold Ramis and Bill Murray.

Murray has held out from signing on to the third film for the past few years. Aykroyd hinted in the interview that Murray may have "abrogated his rights" when he declined to star in "Ghostbusters 3," forfeiting his need to sign-off on the film's green-light.

In the interview, Aykroyd revealed details of a previous, scrapped draft of the third film, which would have seen Murray as a ghost. Murray was being written out of the later drafts but Aykroyd said they'll "always leave a hole for him. He's always there. He can always come back at any time and be rebuilt into it, as far as I'm concerned."

For all setbacks incurred, Aykroyd remains hopeful.

"At this point, I think we're closer than we ever have been" he told Esquire.