Ernie Hudson didn’t see a point in the 2016 Ghostbusters

Last Updated on March 26, 2024

The 2016 Ghostbusters might be one of the most flames major productions of this century, with the trailer quickly becoming the most disliked on YouTube. There were a couple of camps here. One was targeted as being misogynistic, taking personal affront that their beloved characters had been replaced by women. While another is that there just didn’t seem like a point to it all. Why bother if you don’t have the original Ghosbusters? Well, one late recruit — Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddemore — has some thoughts on the matter.

As Ernie Hudson told The Independent, it seemed like a waste to make the Ghostbusters back in 2016, saying, “Look, I’m a fan of [director] Paul Feig so I have nothing negative about him to say. Other than: I don’t quite understand why you do a reboot, you know what I mean? Just make another movie.”

Hudson did want to make it clear that he has nothing against the cast of 2016’s Ghostbusters, which, like the 1984 original, partly consisted of Saturday Night Live alum: Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, and Leslie Jones. To this, he added, “Fans were really invested in the story and the characters and I think it was disappointing. I enjoyed the movie but I think it wasn’t what fans were hoping for.”

Ernie Hudson has been one of the more vocal of the OG Ghostbusters overall, with comments hitting on everything from the 1984 classic to the 2016 reboot to 2021’s Afterlife, which re-launched the attempt to keep interest going in the shaky franchise. For starters, he seriously questioned why he wasn’t part of the marketing campaign of the 1984 original, while he would also go on to show a lack of confidence in the new movies’ direction.

Despite his issues with the majority of movies in the Ghostbusters franchise, Ernie Hudson continues to be part of it, playing Winston in four of the movies and Jones’ uncle in the 2016 entry.

Why do you think the 2016 Ghostbusters didn’t work for audiences? Did Hudson nail it or is there something more? Share your take below!