Rick Moranis Secretly In Ghostbusters: Afterlife?
Rick Moranis has been mostly off-screen over the last two decades, but he could be gearing up for a big return in Ghostbusters: Afterlife
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Rick Moranis hasn’t been on-screen almost at all over the last decade, mostly withdrawing from the acting life. But that doesn’t have fans clamoring to get the iconic actor back into some of his more well-known roles if the opportunity is out there. And there might be something of a chance coming soon with rumors out there that Rick Moranis might secretly be in the upcoming sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
While this rumor is anything but confirmed, the speculation comes from a recent quote by fellow Ghostbuster alum Ernie Hudson. The latter said in an interview with Living Life Fearless, regarding any announcement that Rick Moranis would be returning for the movie, “I think the studio probably wants to hold that one. I love Rick, but I’ll let them (Columbia) share that.”
Is this quote quasi-confirmation that Rick Moranis is returning to his Louis Tully role in Ghostbusters: Afterlife? I mean it isn’t a firm “No” which would have been much easier to give if he was just sitting out the proceedings. Sure, there’s no firm word that the whole original movie gang is getting back together. But if there was a role for Moranis to usher back in his time on screen, this sure feels like it should be the one.
Rick Moranis, one of the bigger and more unlikely movie stars of the late 1980s and early 90s has been mostly absent from the Hollywood scene over the last two-plus decades. He originally took a break from acting following the death of his wife in order to be there for his young children. But he never really returned, taking mostly voice roles over the last twenty-or-so years. That being said, Moranis has intimated he’d return to the screen in a big-budget movie if the fit was right. Man, this sure seems like it would be the role.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set to reboot the iconic franchise, again, following the 2016 all-female version of the movie. The latter scored fine with critics at 73% on the Tomatometer, but was mostly a dud at the box office, tallying *only* $229 million on its $144 million budget. This latest film is basically erasing that flick from the franchise timeline. They are leaning much more into the original characters which is where Rick Moranis could fit in after he declined a role in the 2016 version.
This latest film will focus on the grandson (man are we old) of Egon and his connection to the Ghostbusters of old. Harold Ramis, who played Egon, is now deceased but Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stanz), and Hudson (Winston Zeddemore) will return to reprise their roles and Sigourney Weaver (Dana Barrett) is back as well. It really looks like only Rick Moranis is missing from the mix. The new group of Ghostbusters is led by Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame.
Whether Rick Moranis does, in fact, return remains to be seen. He recently dealt with some off-screen issues after being attacked in New York, so his head might not be in this thing anyway. But if there was a role to jump back into, this would be the one. And fans would, for sure, be here for it.
