Casting in films evolves and changes from what writers and directors originally envision, sometimes for the better. If you take GHOSTBUSTERS, for instance, there were roles originally planned for John Belushi and Eddie Murphy that eventually went to Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson. But, did you know that Rick Moranis‘ role of Louis Tully was originally going to go to John Candy?
Entertainment Weekly‘s current reunion issue delves into the history and development of GHOSTBUSTERS and includes interviews with cast and director Ivan Reitman. Reitman shared the reason why John Candy passed on the Louis Tully role and it is definitely an odd one.
He didn’t like the treatment that I had sent. He didn’t get it. He said, ‘Well, maybe if I played him as a German guy who had a bunch of German shepherd dogs.’ I said, ‘Well, maybe you can do it with an accent, but I don’t think all that’s really necessary.’”
Rick Moranis was offered the role after Candy passed and the rest is history. I am sure Candy would have brought something unique and hilarious to the part, but Moranis’ dorky portrayal just made Tully all the more endearing and worth returning for the sequel. It is a shame that Moranis will likely not appear in GHOSTBUSTERS III, but at least we have two hilarious screen performances from the guy.
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