“Sir, what we have here is what we call a 'non-repeating phantasm', or a class-5 free-roaming vapor. Real nasty one too. “
Ever since it was announced that Paul Feig was hard-rebooting the GHOSTBUSTERS series without any of the old cast members in major roles, we’d wondered if any of the old cast was going to pop up in a cameo, whether as their old characters or (more likely) quick, all-new roles.
Well, we know at least one of them will be back:
On GB set shooting my scene with funny beautiful Kristen Wiig Lady GB'S are adorable, hilarious and badass Exhilarating! #ghostbusters
— Dan Aykroyd (@dan_aykroyd) July 14, 2015
This syncs up with reports that Aykroyd filmed a cameo on the streets of Boston last night.
According to a first-hand account originally posted on Indie Revolver, he will be playing a cab driver that picks up Kristen Wiig’s character at some point. She reportedly asks him to take her off to bust some ghosts, which sets up Aykroyd’s big line: “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!” After which Wiig proceeds, in the fashion of our times, to tear down that iconic catchphrase, calling out its use of double negatives: “That means you are afraid of ghosts!”
Yeah, I groaned too.
Obviously, we’d prefer to have Aykroyd (and ideally Murray and Hudson) pop up in-costume, or at least as someone with Ray Stanz impeccable talent for rattling off factoids about parapsychology and the occult. But seeing the man who INVENTED THIS SERIES (originally to pair him with Belushi) onscreen, giving this new lineup his personal blessing, should give us at least one good, hearty kick of nostalgia amidst Feig’s revisionism.
What y’all think? Could this be a funny bit, or should Aykroyd & co. just stay clear of this entirely?
GHOSTBUSTERS will not see Ray on the other side on July 22nd, 2016.
