Dan Aykroyd Defends “Ghostbusters” All-Female Reboot Starring Melissa McCarthy: ‘I Don’t Besmirch It at All’ (Exclusive)

Original Ghostbuster Aykroyd was a producer on the 2016 film, and supports adding it to your next movie marathon

Who you gonna call? To Dan Aykroyd, any of the Ghostbusters are just fine.

Talking to PEOPLE recently about his new Audible Original, Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude, the original Ghostbuster (who penned the 1984 script) spoke to the franchise's staying power, adding that his part as Ray Stantz is the one he's most often recognized for.

"These are movies that you want to watch again, you want to see them again," he shares. "I think that's neat to make stuff that endures, that people want to watch once, twice, thrice."

To him, that includes 2016's all-female reboot of Ghostbusters, which faced sexist criticism from some fans when it debuted. (All of the movie's stars spoke out about the hate, with Leslie Jones writing in her memoir that she "got taken through the ringer" during that time.)

Related: The Cast of Ghostbusters: Where Are They Now?

"I liked the movie [director] Paul Feig made with those spectacular women," Aykroyd, 72, says. "I was mad at them at the time because I was supposed to be a producer on there and I didn't do my job and I didn't argue about costs. And it cost perhaps more than it should, and they all do. All these movies do."

"But boy, I liked that film," he continues. "I thought that the villain at the end was great. I loved so much of it. And of course, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones and Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, you're never going to do better than that. So I go on the record as saying I'm so proud to have been able to license that movie and have a hand and have a part in it, and I'm fully supportive of it, and I don't besmirch it at all. I think it works really great amongst all the ones that have been made."

Related: Paul Feig Slams 'Ghostbusters' Box Set for Excluding His 2016 Reboot: 'Must Be a Mistake'

Aykroyd's Ghostbusters costar Ernie Hudson commented on the film earlier this year, celebrating Feig and the movie's stars while questioning the plot.

"Look, I’m a fan of Paul Feig so I have nothing negative about him to say. Other than: I don’t quite understand why you do a reboot, you know what I mean? Just make another movie," he told The Independent.

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"Fans were really invested in the story and the characters, and I think it was disappointing," he continued. "I enjoyed the movie, but I think it wasn’t what fans were hoping for."

Both men — along with costar Bill Murray — have remained active members of the Ghostbusters universe since the 1984 film debuted, returning for 1989's Ghostbusters II, making cameos in the 2016 film and playing parts in 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife and 2024's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. (Costar Harold Ramis, the fourth of the original Ghostbusters, died in 2014.)

"I still have these two very active offices to manage, Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters," Aykrold tells PEOPLE. "I though I could retire five years ago, but it hasn't worked out that way. That's okay. I'm grateful for the privilege to keep going."

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