The Ghostbusters team is well-known by pretty much everyone as it has become part of pop culture, but it could have looked very different as many actors and actresses were considered not only for the roles of the team members but also for other big characters from the first film. Back in 1984, the world was introduced to a group of parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City in Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters. The film was a huge success, both critically and financially, and became a cultural phenomenon, making way for a sequel that arrived five years later. Sadly, Ghostbusters II failed to repeat its predecessor’s success, but that wasn’t the end for the team.
Ghostbusters has expanded to other media, most notably video games and TV shows, becoming a very profitable franchise. There were repeated attempts to develop a third film and revive the film series for years, but stopped after Harold Ramis’ death in 2014. However, in 2016, a reboot finally happened with Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters, which featured an all-female team and cameos from the original actors. Unfortunately, the film drew a lot of backlash for having a female team, and even some cast members became the target of online bullying. As a result, Sony opted to not move forward with a sequel, and chose to continue the original series with a new film.
Titled Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the film will follow a new generation of Ghostbusters – Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), who move to their late grandfather's farm in Summerville, Oklahoma with their mother (Carrie Coon), and who might be related to Ramis’ character, Spengler. Most of the original cast will appear in this new film, bringing together two generations of ghost-catchers. It can be hard to imagine a different team of Ghostbusters, but the original crew could have looked very different, as there were many actors in consideration for the roles.
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman was a professor at Columbia University and holds Ph.D.s in parapsychology and psychology. Venkman is cynical, sarcastic, and his main concern is flirting with his female subjects and clients rather than the ghost-catching business itself. He was initially interested on paranormal phenomena and didn’t believe in ghosts until he saw one, and while he can be lazy at times, he’s seen as the leader of the group. Venkman is famously played by Bill Murray, but the character was originally written for John Belushi, but he passed away as Dan Aykroyd was writing the script. The role was offered to Michael Keaton, Chevy Chase, and Steve Guttenberg but they all turned it down, with Chase later sharing that the script he read wasn’t the one used in the film, and was dark and scary. Other actors considered for the role were Tom Hanks and Robin Williams.
In typical Bill Murray fashion, it wasn’t easy to get him on board, so then-Columbia Pictures executive Frank Price agreed to fund The Razor’s Edge, which Murray had co-written and was starring in, hoping that would convince him to appear in Ghostbusters.
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler was the one responsible for the main theoretical framework for the team’s paranormal studies and the creator of their equipment along with Raymond Stantz. Spengler was very intelligent, but lacked social skills when dealing with people, and showed no interest whatsoever in Janine Melnitz, who had a crush on him. Michael Keaton was also offered the role of Spengler but passed on it, so the studio turned to other actors, namely Christopher Walken, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, and Jeff Goldblum. Harold Ramis' original plan was to write the film along with Dan Aykroyd, but decided to play Spengler as he felt he was the best suited for it.
Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddemore was the last one to join the team, as the business boomed and the demand increased, so they needed more help. Zeddemore isn’t a scientist, but was all in for the job and was open to believe in anything as long as there was a steady paycheck. He serves as the voice of reason of the group and took over the mechanical aspect of Ecto-1 so Ray had more time to work with Egon on the new equipment. Aykroyd originally wanted Eddie Murphy to play Zeddemore, but he turned it down. Zeddemore was reportedly set to join the team much earlier in the story, but the script was changed after Murphy passed on it. Ernie Hudson had to go through many auditions until he finally got confirmation that he got the role.
Louis Tully
Louis Tully was an accountant and Dana’s neighbor, and was possessed by the demon Vinz Clortho, who along with Zuul opened the interdimensional gate to bring Gozer the Gozerian, God of destruction. The role was offered to John Candy, who turned it down after his ideas for it were rejected. Reitman shared that Candy’s suggestions included Tully having a German accent and a pair of dogs, but the production crew didn’t feel the accent to be appropriate and there was already enough “dog imagery” in the film. The script was then sent to Rick Moranis, who accepted the part hours later, saying he understood the character completely.
Dana Barrett
Dana Barrett was a cellist who asked the Ghostbusters for help when strange things started to happen in her apartment, especially inside the fridge. Dana’s apartment building turned out to be the gateway for the apocalyptic deity Gozer the Gozerian, and she was possessed by the demon Zuul, who along with Vinz Clortho opened the gate to let Gozer in. Julia Roberts could have played Dana Barrett as she auditioned for it, but it didn’t work out. Although the team behind Ghostbusters wasn’t fully convinced about Sigourney Weaver playing the role due to her generally playing serious characters, she showed her comedic background during her audition and convinced them to cast her.
Other Ghostbusters Characters Almost Played By Other Actors
The Ghostbusters’ secretary and confidante, Janine Melnitz, could have also been played by a different actress. Sandra Bernhard was offered the role but turned it down, and it then went to Annie Potts, who came up with Janine’s peculiar look by mere coincidence (she was rushed into the scene and took the set dresser’s glasses, which became a big part of her style). The demons also went through their own casting process: artist Anne Carlisle was offered the role of Zuul, and Paul Reubens turned down the role of Gozer. In the end, Ivan Reitman provided the voice for Zuul and Slavitza Jovan played Gozer (with Paddi Edwards voicing the character, as her accent came across as comedic). Of course, everything turned out for the best for Ghostbusters, and the final casting choices boosted the film’s success and legacy.
