Among the many who had a negative response when director Paul Feig's female-led GHOSTBUSTERS reboot was first announced was original Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson, who told the UK Telegraph at the time,
"I heard it was going to be a total reboot, and that it would have nothing to do with the other two movies. If it has nothing to do with the other two movies, and it's all female, then why are you calling it Ghostbusters?
"I love females. I hope that if they go that way at least they'll be funny, and if they're not funny at least hopefully it'll be sexy. I love the idea of including women, I think that's great. But all-female I think would be a bad idea. I don't think the fans want to see that.
"Maybe it will come out and be the most amazing thing, but in my opinion I think it would be wrong to do another movie that didn't include the guys. And that didn't include me!"
However, when Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones entered negotiations to play the new team of Ghostbusters, Hudson's outlook became more positive. Apparently approving of the casting choices, he told TheWrap, "Four fiercely funny, foxy, females busting ghosts … phenomenal."
It probably also helps that Feig did indeed end up including "the guys" and Hudson himself in the film, giving cameos to all three of the surviving actors who played the Ghostbusters in the original 1984 film and its 1989 sequel (sadly, Harold Ramis passed away last year).
Dan Aykroyd reportedly appears as a cab driver, Bill Murray is rumored to have played a "supernatural debunker", and in pictures that were taken on the set of the new GHOSTBUSTERS on their final day of filming, Ernie Hudson can be seen driving a hearse. At the end of the day, Hudson tweeted,
Today was one of the most fun days of my career. Great respect for Paul and this amazing cast of ladies.
Production wrapped on Feig's GHOSTBUSTERS this past Saturday, September 19th. The film is set to reach theatres just under ten months later, on July 15, 2016.
In addition to Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon, Jones, Aykroyd, Murray, and Hudson, the film also stars Neil Casey, Chris Hemsworth, Andy Garcia, Michael K. Williams, Matt Walsh, Pat Kiernan, and Cecily Strong.