The Original Plan for This Ghostbusters Favorite Would Have Changed the Franchise Forever

Ghostbusters features one of the most iconic and recognizable ensemble casts of any feature film released in the 1980s. In the years since the flick’s 1984 debut, the faces of the core characters have been plastered all over various forms of merchandising; the key players have appeared in multiple animated spinoffs; and each of the original team members has returned for several subsequent follow-up efforts. Imagine a world, though, where one of the original members of the squad was played by a completely different actor. Imagine further if the role in question was played by Eddie Murphy. What a different film that might have been.

As it turns out, Ghostbusters co-writer and star Dan Aykroyd originally had designs on fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Murphy playing one of the team’s core members.

Eddie Murphy Says He Declined to Appear in Ghostbusters Due to Scheduling Conflicts

Murphy previously spoke with Jimmy Fallon about why he didn’t take part in the film during an appearance on The Tonight Show, and it turns out that the actor wasn’t opposed to appearing, more so than overextended. Fallon walked Murphy through a series of footnotes from his storied career, eventually bringing up reports that the prolific actor almost starred in Ghostbusters but instead had to dedicate his efforts elsewhere.

“Yes, but I did Beverly Hills … because I did Beverly Hills Cop,” Murphy explained. “It wasn’t like I turned it down inasmuch as I wasn’t available because I was doing this other movie.”

There are conflicting reports on who Murphy would have actually played, with many of said reports suggesting he would have appeared as Winston Zeddmore, a role that eventually went to Ernie Hudson. To hear Aykroyd tell the story, however, Murphy would have played Dr. Peter Venkman, a part fans know ultimately went to Bill Murray.

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When Aykroyd appeared on the Netflix docu-series The Movies That Made Us to talk all things Ghostbusters, he asserted that he initially envisioned himself and Murphy as two of the three original team members.

“I wrote it for Eddie Murphy,” Aykroyd recalled. “It was me, John Belushi, and Eddie Murphy. Uh, we were the original — supposed to be the original Ghostbusters.”

What Would Ghostbusters Have Looked Like With Eddie Murphy in a Leading Role?

Regardless of who Murphy might or might not have played, Ghostbusters would have been a very different movie with him attached. Murphy plays a scene stealer in many of his ‘80s films, a distinction that could have gone a couple of different ways if things had played out differently.

If director Ivan Reitman let Murphy run free, the actor may have taken something away from the impressive cast chemistry we know and love. One of the things fans appreciate about Ghostbusters is the pitch-perfect dynamic between the core lineup. With a different actor playing one of the leads, that dynamic may have looked a lot different.

Inversely, Murphy’s hypothetical presence may have seen the actor emerging as a fan favorite. It’s impossible to say for sure. One thing we do know is that the cast, as it stands, has unforgettable chemistry.

All things considered, Ghostbusters would have been a very different movie if any of the iconic lead roles went to a different actor, this goes double for a world where Eddie Murphy was tapped to play one of the titular characters.

Ghostbusters has a storied history with multiple canonical installments, animated series, reboots, and more. The future of the franchise is nebulous at this point, but there are plenty of projects in various states of completion. We know that Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman (who collaborated on Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) are interested in making more Ghostbusters movies, but no word on when that might happen. Additionally, Reitman and Kenan are also working on an animated Ghostbusters series for Netflix. That, however, is not the only animated Ghostbusters project in the works for the streamer, Netflix is also in development on an animated Ghostbusters feature. There’s no word just yet on when you can expect to see any of these projects materialize, but we will continue to update you as we learn more.

What do you think of a Ghostbusters film featuring the scene-stealing Eddie Murphy as a core character? Make sure to let us know in the comments section!