‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot: Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson Weigh In


“When there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?”

Since Ghostbusters came out in 1984, it’s been almost impossible to find someone unable to answer that question. Now, a whole new generation of kids will be growing up with their toy proton packs.

Originally, the film was going to be directed by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II). He intended to bring back the original cast. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

First, Billy Murray (Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation) was difficult, if not impossible, to bring into the project. When Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day, Analyze This) died, it almost dashed the hopes of another Ghostbusters movie completely.

With only Dan Aykroyd (My Girl, Blues Brothers) and Ernie Hudson (Ms. Congeniality, The Crow) still able to take part in the project, Reitman dropped out.

Producers had to find another way to go about bringing Ghostbusters to the next generation. So, Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat), took over the project and it was re-imagined as a reboot. For an extra twist, it was decided that the four male leads would be replaced with females.

Not everyone took to the idea immediately.

In October, Ernie Hudson commented on the new take on the old Ghostbusters.

“I love females. I hope that if they go that way at least they’ll be funny, and if they’re not funny at least hopefully it’ll be sexy. I love the idea of including women, I think that’s great. But all-female I think would be a bad idea. I don’t think the fans want to see that.”

Perhaps his reaction came from worrying who was going to take up the job of policing the dead.

It’s been reported by various sources that Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Mike & Molly), Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, The Skeleton Twins), Leslie Jones (Top Five, Saturday Night Live) and Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live, Life Partners) are going to be the four new Ghostbusters. Feig’s rep told TIME, however, that everything was still in the works and that “as of now, no one in the cast is officially confirmed.”

None-the-less, Dan Aykroyd weighed in with The Hollywood Reporter.

“The Aykroyd family is delighted by this inheritance of the Ghostbusters torch by these most magnificent women in comedy. My great grandfather, Dr. Sam Aykroyd, the original Ghostbuster, was a man who empowered women in his day, and this is a beautiful development in the legacy of our family business.”

With the original Ghostbusters not really on the same page, it’s difficult to tell how the reboot will do. That doesn’t mean people are looking forward to it any less.

[Image courtesy of Gizmodo.]

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