In 2017, Ivan Reitman declared that he had intentions to continue to expand the Ghostbusters universe, despite the largely negative reception to the 2016 reboot. Reitman did not elaborate on what these projects might be, but it’s safe to assume he’s talking about more movies.
A sequel to the all-female Ghostbusters: Answer the Call is extremely unlikely, and with the original cast either too old (in their words) or deceased (we love you Harold) to push ahead with an official third instalment in the original franchise, we can only assume there will be a full reboot and/or remake somewhere down the line.
So, just for fun, we decided to have a go at a little bit of fantasy casting for a Ghostbusters remake. You can let us know how much you hate our choices and how awful a remake would be in the comments section below.
1LAMORNE MORRIS AS WINSTON ZEDDMORE
As New Girl’s own Winston, Lamorne Morris is an excellent choice to play the latecomer to the team. In his original vision, Dan Aykroyd wanted funnyman Eddie Murphy for the role, but due to filming conflicts with Beverley Hills Cop, Murphy was replaced by Ernie Hudson and the role became more of an ‘everyman’ character than a comedic one. Casting Morris would bring Winston Zeddmore back around full circle to the way he was originally written, and perhaps make him feel like a bigger part of the team.
2DAISY RIDLEY AS DANA BARRETT
It doesn’t matter that you know Daisy Ridley could kick your arse – she is a top tier Jedi after all – she would be a great choice to play the role of damsel in distress with an edge that was so perfectly captured by Sigourney Weaver in 1984. Hell, when she’s not in full Star Wars mode, Ridley even has a look of a young Weaver, with similar bone structure etc. and let’s not forget that Weaver herself was 5 years off playing her own interstellar ass kicker Ripley in Ridley Scott’s iconic Alien, when she landed the role as the future levitating Gatekeeper.
3ZACH GALIFIANAKIS AS LOUIS TULLY
There are no laws in the world of movie remakes that mean characters must be exactly like the originals, otherwise why bother remaking the movie at all? That’s why Zach Galifianakis would be a great choice for the role of Dana Barrett’s loser neighbor Louis Tully. In the original Ghostbusters back in 1984, Tully was a diminutive, whiny nerd played perfectly by Rick Moranis. The character suited that era, whereas the wannabe yuppy would seem out of place in a modern setting. Imagine Galifianakis’ man-child persona instead. He could still be desperate for the affections of Ms. Barrett, and once possessed by Vinz Clortho/The Keymaster his unique comedic performance would bring something special to the role.
If Zach Galifianakis is busy that day then shit, cast Stephen Merchant instead – because if you’ve seen his show Hello Ladies you’ll know just how creepy and weird that guy can be in the right role.
4AUBREY PLAZA AS JANINE MELNITZ
She might be missing the ‘Noo Yawk’ twang, but damn it, Aubrey Plaza has the look and the attitude to pull off a character like Janine Melnitz. You could also see her hard-faced exterior melt away at the sight of her unrequited love interest Egon Spengler whenever the two share screen-time as well, and that’s a key aspect of her dynamic as part of the Ghostbuster team.
5BEN AFFLECK AS WALTER PECK
Hey, I know this would never happen but if Affleck reprised his role as Shannon in Kevin Smith’s Mallrats, then we think he’d make a great shit-heel like old no dick himself, Walter Peck.
6CHARLIE DAY AS DR. RAYMOND STANTZ
Who better than It’s Always Sunny’s Charlie Day to portray the lovable, excitable, and relatable Ray Stantz? This could also be Zack Galifianakis come to think of it, but he lacks the likable je ne sais quoi of the Stantz character.
7MARTIN STARR AS DR. EGON SPENGLER
Martin Starr is pretty much Egon Spengler with attitude in everything he plays on TV, so why not give the Freaks and Geeks and Silicon Valley actor the chance to perform in the role he was born to play?
8JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT AS DR. PETER VENKMAN
How do you replace a guy like Bill Murray? The quick answer is you don’t. No one will ever live up to his portrayal of the blunt, womanizing doctor of parapsychology (or any of his roles for that matter), but Joseph Gordon-Levitt could come close. OK, so he looks like he’s still 14, but if he forgets to shave for a few weeks, doesn’t sleep and banishes his comb to the afterlife, then he could be the next best thing.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is truly intelligent, so would come off as genuine in his role as a scientist, can be hilarious and deadpan at whim, and, just like Mr. Murray, is genuinely attractive to men and women all over the world. Peter Venkman is the hardest role in the entire movie to fantasy re-cast, but if he was given a chance we truly believe Gordon-Levitt could do the role justice.
So those are our choices. What do you think? Who would you cast in the iconic roles? Remember, this is just for fun and we’d be quite happy if there wasn’t a remake of Ghostbusters at all, but what harm can it do to spitball some ideas? And if you don’t like it, then you know who to call.
Or, you know, stop it with the remake/recasting talk. Instead, how about we encourage Hollywood to do legacy sequels? There’s no reason a new team of Ghostbusters that were formed by the original team wouldn’t be amazing (and the original actors can reprise their roles if they want), and your casting call would be amazing for new characters. I’m tired of remakes (and who are you fooling? Rebranding remakes as “reboots” isn’t fooling anyone), and we should ALL stop supporting Hollywood when they go that route.