Eddie Murphy Reveals Why He Didn’t Do Ghostbusters

Eddie Murphy is gracing the Saturday Night Live stage again tonight and people are pumped to see him. But, what people might not realize is that the star was supposed to originally be in Ghostbusters back in the day. This story has been talked about more recently but the comedian spoke with Jimmy Fallon about it. It is true that the part was written with the superstar in mind, but he has a great reason for why he wasn’t able to star in the film. In fact, that’s not the project that he regrets the most out of the movies he’s missed out on. That revelation is pretty staggering when you think about how big Ghostbusters ended up being. But, around the time of Beverly Hills Cop, Murphy was one of the biggest stars on the planet.

“Yes, but I did Beverly Hills Cop,” Murphy began. “It wasn’t like I turned it down inasmuch as I wasn’t available because I was doing this other movie. The only movie I ever turned down that became a big hit was that ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit.’ I was going to be the Bob Hoskins dude. And I was like, ‘What? Animation and people? That sounds like bull**** to me.’ Now every time I see it, I feel like an idiot.”

To hear Dan Aykrod tell it, the conversation didn’t go exactly like that.

“I wrote it for Eddie Murphy,” he explained. “It was me, John Belushi, and Eddie Murphy. We were supposed to be the original Ghostbusters.”

Aykrod said that the role he penned for Murphy was supposed to slot in for Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman. One of the reasons this didn’t happen was related to Murphy’s previous admission about having a prior commitment. But, it looks like it worked out for both parties involved.

“I was like, ‘This sounds like a crock … to me,’” Murphy responded to Extra back in 2003.

At any rate, Saturday Night Live will be rocking tonight. Fans are pumped to see SNL legend. Those classic characters will probably make an appearance as well. The action gets started later tonight on NBC.

He told Al Roker on the Today Show that everything would be on the table for his return. So, the fans’ excitement is absolutely warranted.

“Mister Robinson, if we can come up with Mister Robinson,” he explained. “Or Velvet Jones. I’m down for whatever as long as it’s really, really funny.”