Original Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd believes Ant-Man star Paul Rudd has what it takes to succeed actor and comedian Bill Murray as the quintessential comic lead for the new generation of Ghostbusters fans who will be introduced to the franchise via Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
In a clip from The Tonight Show posted on YouTube, Aykroyd sat down with Murray and his other surviving co-star, Ernie Hudson, to discuss their roles in the eagerly anticipated Ghostbusters revival. Sharing his thoughts on the new leads, Aykroyd singled out Rudd as "a master comedian." He went on to compare the Marvel actor's comedic energy to Murray's, claiming he has the potential to be "the leading comic, you know, leading man of his generation." Aykroyd closed his thoughts on the actor by suggesting, "Paul is gonna be taking that torch up, I think."
Aykroyd was also complimentary towards the young talent in the film, citing McKenna Grace as "a spectacular actress, and she’s basically gonna be our new CEO." He was quick to point out that the characters at the forefront of the film would be joined by "some great new creatures" who will provide "great new fun." The former Ghostbuster even teased, "The Ecto[plasm] is doing things that you never saw it do before." In spite of this focus on updating the Ghostbusters universe for a modern audience, the new iteration still uses practical effects, much to the younger cast's delight.
Afterlife represents a new direction for the Ghostbusters movie series, effectively ignoring the 2016 reboot and instead serving as a direct continuation of Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989). Although his film makes a narrative clean break from the previous installment, director Jason Reitman believes Afterlife builds on the positive female representation introduced in Ghostbusters (2016), arguing, "the remake proved, at least to me, the idea that the Ghostbusters could be anyone."
Unlike their cameo appearances in the reboot, Afterlife sees Aykroyd, Murray and Hudson reprise their respective roles as Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore for the first time in over a decade, after they lent their voices and physical likenesses to Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Harold Ramis, who played the fourth member of the initial Ghostbusters quartet, Egon Spengler, also returned for the game but passed away before any live action relaunch reached fruition, leaving his co-stars with the task of upholding the Ghostbusters legacy by passing the mantle on to a new generation. Despite Spengler's physical absence from Afterlife, Reitman believes Harold Ramis is the heart of the film.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife debuts in theaters on Nov. 19.
Source: YouTube