Dan Aykroyd Working on The Great Outdoors 2!

It looks like ‘The Great Outdoors’ is getting a long-overdue sequel thanks to Dan Aykroyd…

CelebnMovies247.com reports that Dan Aykroyd, 69, is planning to reunite with the 1988 comedy’s original director Howard Deutch, and he is trying to find the right actor to replace his late co-star John Candy.

The legendary John Candy passed away in 1994 at the age of 43 on the set of Durango after he suffered a heart attack in his sleep.

Dan Aykroyd told The Hollywood Reporter:

Howie Deutch was a really fun director on the picture. He loved handling Candy and me. Deutch and I are working on the sequel, called ‘The Great Outlaws’. I am looking for the Candy figure. There are some really interesting names, but I can’t say who.

Howie and I are tickled to bring back Roman as a Ponzi scheme guy who victimizes a federal agent. Who knows? If I find the right partner…

The original movie starred Candy and Aykroyd as in-laws Chet Ripley and Roman Craig on a family camping trip with their respective wives Connie (Stephanie Faracy) and Katie (Annette Bening).

The late ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ actor would have turned 71 on October 30, and his friend recalled one of his favorite memories of them working together.

He added:

I remember this one night in Second City Toronto, we were doing this sketch where Dave [Thomas] and I were these two cops, and we were trying to arrest Candy, who was being disorderly.

And he scooped me up and put me on one shoulder and whipped around and put Dave on the other shoulder and he whirled us around the room. [laughs] He was very strong.

Meanwhile, Aykroyd is reprising his role as Dr. Raymond Stantz in ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ and he has heaped praise on director Jason Reitman, whose father Ivan was at the helm of the original 1984 film.

He previously said:

Jason is the perfect inheritor of the legacy as a writer, storyteller, and director. His vision derives seamlessly, respectfully and honesty from the original films. Can’t wait to see the lines around the multiplex.