Bill Murray says he was tricked into starring in Ghostbusters sequel ‘under false pretenses’
‘I showed up on set and went, “What the hell is this?”’ actor recalls
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Bill Murray has said he was “outfoxed” when he joined the Ghostbusters sequel “under false pretenses”.
The actor recently discussed his history with the beloved franchise when speaking on a panel at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
He said he was “very, very reluctant” to make a sequel to the 1984 original but was eventually “outfoxed” when the studio pitched him a story idea that never materialised into the sequel’s screenplay.
“I thought that the only reason anyone would want another one was just to make money and I was probably the most reluctant,” said Murray.
“Someone outfoxed me anyway. I don’t know if Ivan [Reitman, producer] set it up but they got us all back together in a room and really, we hadn’t been together in a room since the movie came out and it was just really, really fun to be together.”
Read more:
He added that his co-stars Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts are “spectacular” and “funny as hell”.
The 70-year old said that he had agreed to star in the 1989 sequel after the studio “pitched a story idea that was really great. I thought, ‘Holy cow, we could make that work’”.
However, as Murray explained: “It ended up not being the story they wrote. They got us in the sequel under false pretenses.
“Harold [Ramis] had this great idea, but by the time we got to shooting it, I showed up on set and went, ‘What the hell is this? What is this thing?’ But we were already shooting it, so we had to figure out how to make it work.”
The actor went on to offer his opinion on the two films, stating: “I probably like the first one better than the second one, just because the first cut is the deepest.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Murray is due to star opposite Stranger Things’s Finn Wolfhard in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which is slated for release on 11 November later this year.
Speaking about the forthcoming film, he said director Jason Reitman’s script “really brings [the franchise] back to life”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments