OG Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson confirms he’s heard they’re writing Ghostbusters 4 and hopes Winston Zeddemore gets a chance to return.
OG Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson keeps his fingers crossed that he’ll get a chance to reprise his role of Winston Zeddemore for Ghostbusters 4† Winston, the only member of the original Ghostbusters team with no previous experience in parapsychology and higher education, was originally written to serve as a surrogate for the audience allowing them to more easily relate to the paranormal world of his new teammates. Dan Akyroyd had originally hoped to get Eddie Murphy for the part after previously working with him on Trading placesbut Murphy’s work on Beverly Hills Cop prevented him from committing to the scroll.
With the original Ghostbusters Still widely regarded as an iconic example of 1980s filmmaking, efforts to expand and reboot the franchise have all been met with varying degrees of success over the years. In 2016, the controversial Ghostbusters: Answer the Call reboot largely failed to resonate with audiences and was devastated by fans. However, late last year, Jason Reitman (son of original director Ivan Reitman) released Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which ignored the 2016 reboot and served as a direct sequel to his father’s films. In addition to introducing the audience to Egon Spengler’s estranged grandchildren, the film’s final act saw original actors Murray, Aykroyd and Hudson return to their roles alongside a CGI recreation of Harold Ramis’ Egon.
Most recently, on the back cover of the recent digital release of Ghostbusters: AfterlifeHudson sat down with boss to talk about his return to the franchise and his hopes for the future. Given that afterlifeThe scene after the credits references Hudson’s character looking to fund and reboot the Ghostbusters brand. Fans are already wondering what the future holds. When asked about a possible fourth film, Hudson confirmed that he “heard they writea and hopes he gets a chance to appear, but jokes that he may eventually be replaced by Arsenio Hall. Watch his full response below:
I heard they are writing. No one came to me and said ‘Hello‘or you know,’we want you to do everything† Looking at that ending scene, I’d like to think that if they move on, hopefully Winston will be a part of it. But in Hollywood, I don’t take anything for granted. You know, I look up and it will be Arsenio Hall who is Winston, but anything is possible.
Hudson’s caution about a possible return certainly makes sense given the long and winding road it took to release afterlife† Prior to the reboot of Paul Feig in 2016, Columbia Pictures had been trying for years to get another sequel off the ground. Shortly after the release of Ghostbusters II in 1989, Aykroyd had written a script for a third film in which the original Ghostbusters would have passed the baton to a new, younger team. However, the film’s development would continue to stall and questions were constantly being raised about Murray’s possible participation. Even when the decision was made to reboot the series, plans to kickstart Feig’s film for a new series were quickly shelved in the wake of its troubled release.
Even Hudson’s casual joke about possibly being replaced by Arsenio Hall (who voiced Hudson’s character in the animated film) Real Ghostbusters series) is not without precedent. Given Murray’s reluctance to return for previous attempts at a series revival, some serious thought was once given to recasting the role of Peter Venkman or even turning him into a ghost. Fortunately, however, Murray eventually agreed to return for afterlife alongside his fellow castmates, bringing the nostalgia-driven threequel full circle. No doubt fans will keep their fingers crossed Ghostbusters 4 will give the remaining team even more chances to return one more time.
Source: Bossip
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