Now that Ghostbusters: Afterlife is finally on its way, it almost feels mandatory to revisit the original Ghostbusters, with the upcoming movie clearly having a lot of love for the 1984 original. With modern storytelling and upgraded practical effects capabilities, what would happen if Ghostbusters was made today?
Ghostbusters would be a tough sell these days, as Hollywood tends to be rather nervous about the idea of releasing a big-budget movie that isn’t based on an established property. That said, with some imagination and an unfair level of hindsight, it isn’t hard to dream up a contemporary cast for the movie.
Dee Bradley Baker As Slimer
Fans may not be familiar with Dee Bradley Baker’s face, but they’ll know the characters he’s voiced. Baker is a prolific voice actor, known for his work on The Clone Wars, Spongebob Squarepants, Legends of The Hidden Temple, and more, with the actor constantly delivering fantastic performances regardless of whether or not his characters have lines.
This resume makes him more than qualified to play Slimer, who plays a small but important role in the first movie as the first real ghost the group captures. It’d be nice to see a voice actor play Slimer instead of a random celebrity or crewmember, and that would also be a nice change of pace from the original Slimer, who was voiced by director Ivan Reitman.
Tony Todd As Gozer
Whereas Slimer would be a purely vocal performance, Gozer The Gozarian is a more tricky character to tackle, as the role was physically played by Slavitza Jovan and voiced by Paddi Edwards. Regardless of what direction a modern Ghostbusters‘ crew would take the Eldritch horror that is Gozer, the character is in need of a menacing voice.
Tony Todd has had some great roles, with his performances in Candyman and Final Destination coming to mind, but if there’s one thing that fans will always love the actor for is his voice. A voice that somehow manages to be both seductive and menacing, Todd’s voice alone could give Gozer the danger they need.
Burn Gorman As Walter Peck
William Atherton’s Walter Peck is certainly a cretin, but what makes him interesting is that he is 100% right. The Ghostbusters aren’t doing their job to the correct standards, but at the end of the day, Peck is the one who is punished for it.
The part requires an actor with a tremendous amount of range, an actor like Pacific Rim’s Burn Gorman. If anyone has seen him in And Then There Were None or The Expanse, they would know that, while he is often cast in villainous roles similar to Walter Peck, he’s able to make them feel different from each other, something he’d need if he were to play a role like Peck.
Noah Segan As Louis Tully
Louis Tully arguably received more character depth in the sequel, but he is a fun character in the original film. Tully is another character who requires an actor with a lot of range, and while there are many candidates, Noah Segan immediately ranks among the best choices.
Though he’s played a wide range of characters, it’s his performance in Knives Out, playing the uber-likable Trooper Wagner, that provides some insight into how he’d approach Tully. Segan could take Tully’s infatuation with Dana Barrett and actually make it sweet rather than slightly creepy.
Ashly Burch As Janine Melnitz
Secretary Janine Melnitz doesn’t play a huge role in Ghostbusters, but she’s part of some funny scenes, with Annie Potts being a naturally charismatic performer. That said, the sass and quirkiness of the character brings an actress that has taken the world by storm to mind.
Ashly Burch has become a household name in recent years, both from her numerous voice acting roles and her performance in Apple TV’s Mythic Quest. There’s a lot of Janine in Burch’s work, with Tiny Tina from Borderlands, Miss Pauling from Team Fortress 2, and Rachel from Mythic Quest giving fans a glimpse of what she’d bring to the role.
Aubrey Plaza As Dana Barrett
Sigourney Weaver has never put in a poor performance, and her role as Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters is a testament to that. Though her romantic subplot with Peter Venkman feels forced, her role in the film is an important one, and Weaver gives the character a lot of depth.
Aubrey Plaza is one of the best actresses working in Hollywood right now, having become famous for portraying April Ludgate in Parks And Recreation. Though April has a lot of the sass of Dana, her role in the remake of Child’s Play, where she plays a struggling mother attempting to provide for her son, shows she has the range that makes her a prime candidate.
Trevante Rhodes As Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddimore is a fan favorite Ghostbuster, but while he plays an important role in the movie, he isn’t really given the screentime he deserves. That could be fixed if the movie was a remake, without the gift of hindsight, Winston’s portrayal in a modern Ghostbusters movie is more of a question mark.
Rhodes gained notoriety for his performance in Moonlight, with the actor also starring in 2018’s The Predator (which ranks as the worst Predator movie), but Rhodes delivers a strong performance. Rhodes’ natural charisma could match Ernie Hudson’s, but hopefully, the actor can demand that Winston get more attention in the movie, as he does tend to be short-changed.
Ethan Peck As Egon Spengler
It feels cheap to only use Ethan Peck’s performance as Spock in Star Trek: Discovery to showcase how he’s right for Egon, but the two characters are very similar. Peck took a character pioneered by someone else and took it in a completely different direction, giving a whole new attitude and youthful quality that hasn’t been seen in the character before.
Spock used logic to save the day, much like how the late Harold Ramis’ Egon would often turn to logic in order to combat the supernatural. Also, Peck is no stranger to filling the shoes of a departed actor, as he took over the part of Spock from the late Leonard Nimoy.
Donald Glover As Ray Stantz
Ray Stantz is a tricky character to recast, as Dan Akroyd completely embodies the role. With that said, the best way to approach it is to find an actor who would make the character his own while paying respect to what came before, something that Donald Glover has proven he can do.
Donald Glover needs no introduction nowadays, as his work on Community, Atlanta, and as Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story speaks for itself. Glover can easily convey the wide-eyed wonder and nerdiness of Ray whilst making the role his own.
Bo Burnham As Peter Venkman
Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman was a major selling point for Ghostbusters, with his fast-talking and ladies man charm helping to differentiate him from Stantz, Spengler, and Zeddimore. Though several aspects of the character haven’t aged well, the core of the character could be really appealing in the hands of the right actor.
Bo Burnham’s been gaining some attention recently with Bo Burham: Inside, with Burnham getting creative during the pandemic. Burham’s comedy has always had the edge needed for Venkman, and his performance in Promising Young Woman shows he has the chops to pull it off, so if a movie like this ever enters development, Burnham’s phone had better start ringing.
