The actor has long been supportive of the upcoming film, which features an all-female foursome of jumpsuit-clad paranormal exterminators, but the Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that he’ll actually be making an appearance in the film.
No word yet on whether he’ll appear as Dr. Venkman (we can’t imagine why he wouldn’t) but, either way, this is huge news.
Related: Here are Bill Murray’s picks for an all-female Ghostbusters cast
It’s no secret that Murray has been reluctant to get involved in any further ghost-busting, citing his concerns about sullying the magic of the original. The actor felt that Ghostbusters II wasn’t as well-received as the first film and was the only member of the original team who declined to don his proton pack for a planned, Ivan Reitman-directed sequel. Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson were all on board to reprise as Dr. Raymond Stantz, Dr. Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddmore respectively.
Apparently, this version offers a fresh enough take on the franchise that Murray is willing to be involved in some capacity. He’ll appear alongside Melissa McCarthy (Abby Yates), Kristen Wiig (Erin Gilbert), Kate McKinnon (Jillian Holtzmann), Leslie Jones (Patty Tolan) and Chris Hemsworth (Kevin the receptionist). Paul Feig will direct.
If an average Hostess Twinkie represented a normally hyped film, this reboot would be a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately 600 lbs. In the immortal words of Ernie Hudson (Winston): That’s a big Twinkie.
We sincerely hope this ends up being as awesome as it sounds, but we’ll have to wait until July 22, 2016 to find out.
Murray fans will be able to catch the actor in another reboot before then, however, as he’ll voice Baloo in The Jungle Book, an updated, live-action take on the original slated to hit theaters April 15, 2016.
