"Ghostbusters" - Columbia Pictures(LOS ANGELES) -- After spending decades cultivating a mercurial persona, Bill Murray didn't disappoint when he checked in with Ellen DeGeneres to video chat about among other things, the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Protecting himself from the pandemic -- or is it panda-demic? -- Murray wore a mascot panda head throughout their conversation, during which he mourned the loss of fellow 'buster Harold Ramis, who died in 2014, and Rick Moranis, the only original living cast member not to join the sequel.

"They're greatly missed for so many reason reasons. They were so much a part of the creation of it and the fun of it," Murray told the chat-show host.

Murray had buried the hatchet with Ramis before the filmmakers' death, ending a decades-old falling out with his Groundhog Day director.

In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, McKenna Grace plays the granddaughter of Ramis' Egon Spengler. The spirit -- pardon the pun -- of the character "is featured in the story of the movie," Murray explained.

"So, it will be very interesting," he added.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife moved was set to open July 10 before the coronavirus pandemic unfolded. The movie, directed by Jason Reitman, the son of original Ghostbusters movies Ivan Reitman, will now open March 5, 2021.

Avengers: Infinity War's Carrie Coon, Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard, and Paul Rudd also star.

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