Ghostbusters: Afterlife Star Doesn’t Rule Out a Rick Moranis Return

Is Rick Moranis answering the call for more Ghostbusters? In the new movie from Jason Reitman, son of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II director Ivan Reitman, the family of the late Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) discovers their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. 30 years after reserve Ghostbuster Louis Tully (Moranis) helped save a slime-covered New York City in Ghostbusters II, Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), and Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) return to the franchise later this year in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

“I think the studios probably want to hold that one,” Hudson told Living Life Fearless when asked if Moranis returns. “I love Rick. But yeah, I’ll let them share that.”

According to a January 2020 report from Vanity Fair, Moranis is not among the surviving Ghostbusters cast members returning in the decades-later sequel. Murray appeared to confirm the report during a May appearance on Ellen, where he said Ghostbusters 3 is “missing two great people.”

“We’re missing Rick Moranis and we’re missing Harold Ramis,” Murray said. “And they’re greatly missed for so many reasons. They were so much a part of the creation of it and the fun of it. But Harold is featured in the story of the movie, so it’s going to be very interesting.”

Moranis, who has largely withdrawn from the acting space, previously revealed he declined to participate in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot that featured his original co-stars in cameo appearances.

“I’m interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role, and as soon as one comes along that piques my interest, I’ll probably do it,” Moranis told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “[But Ghostbusters 2016] didn’t appeal to me.”

Afterlife ignores the 2016 reboot and returns to the original continuity established in 1984’s Ghostbusters. It’s unclear how the original characters re-enter the story, which centers on single mom Callie (Carrie Coon), her two children (Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace), and school teacher-slash-seismologist Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd).

“I say this to people, and I know they look at me like I’m a little bit off, but honestly, it was almost a spiritual coming together. Not a religious [one], but I just felt almost emotional by it,” Hudson told Living Life Fearless about the return to Ghostbusters. “I mean, to see Bill, and Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and then to see this new group of people coming in, it was something that had such an impact on my life. To be able to come back together again, that was very, very special.”

Sony Pictures opens Ghostbusters: Afterlife in theaters on November 11.