Bill Murrays Return as Venkman in Ghostbusters Afterlife Joyously Praised by Ivan Reitman

We are only a month away from seeing Ghostbusters: Afterlife arrive in theaters, and probably the one thing that fans of the franchise are wanting to see more than anything is the old team back together on screen doing what they did best in the 80s and it looks like that is not going to be a disappointment as director Jason Reitman and his father and producer Ivan Reitman have called seeing Bill Murray playing Peter Venkman again “one of the joys of the movie.”

For decades there were rumors that sequel to 1989’s Ghostbusters II was in development, but after numerous scripts, dozens of attempts to get Bill Murray back to the franchise and the best not spoken about 2016 movie, this November finally brings the original Ghostbusters mythology and actors back to the big screen, with a couple of obvious exceptions such as Rick Moranis and the sadly missed Harold Ramis. While Ramis will be given an on-screen dedication in the movie, seeing the remaining members of the gang back together is something that is going to be very special for those who grew up watching the 1984 classic and its sequel, and it clearly felt the same for the Reitmans.

RELATED: Ghostbusters: Afterlife Ends with A Special Dedication to Harold Ramis

“I don’t think I was prepared for what it would feel like when the original guys walk on set in their flight suits,” Jason Reitman said in the latest issue of Empire magazine. “It’s like seeing superheroes. And it feels very special. It’s also very intimidating. And it is an immediate reminder of what we were so presumptuous to attempt, which is to make another film that is a chapter in this larger story. It’s one thing to direct all new characters, because at that point, you can almost say that you’re making fan fiction. When Bill (Murray) and Ernie (Hudson) and Dan (Aykroyd) walk in wearing flight suits, it becomes very real, very quickly. This is a Ghostbusters movie.”

Original movie director Ivan Reitman, who serves as producer on Ghostbusters: Afterlife, added, “When certain people started showing up from the world of the ’84 film, it was startling for me. Just to see everybody older but still be there. Seeing them step on set in character was really thrilling. And to hear Venkman speak as Venkman, in a way that we haven’t heard in such a long time, that’s going to be one of the joys of the movie.”

When it comes to working with Bill Murray though, there is one thing that is well known about the one-time Saturday Night Live regular and cinematic icon, and that is his ad-libbing on set. According to the younger Reitman, that is something that was one again apparent during the filming of Afterlife.

“I’d heard all the stories about Bill improvising lines of dialogue. And when Bill improvised a line, I remember everyone around me going ‘He did the thing!'” The November issue of Empire magazine is out now, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife arrives in theaters on November 19th. This news originated at Empire magazine, so check out the cover.

Topics: Ghostbusters 3, Ghostbusters

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