Eddie Murphy Regrets Turning Down Ghostbusters

Who you gonna call? Long before everyone in the world knew the answer to that question was “Ghostbusters,” Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman called Eddie Murphy. And Murphy said no. Along with fellow Saturday Night Live alumni John Belushi, Murphy was one of Akroyd’s first picks to star with him as a team of paranormal investigators. But when Belushi died and Murphy passed, Aykroyd reworked the line-up, eventually finding partners in Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson, who combined to make Ghostbusters into a 1984 megahit.

Unsurprisingly, Murphy looks back at the decision with regret. Speaking with the AP (via Variety) about his the documentary Being Eddie, Murphy identified the horror comedy as one of the movies he wished he would have done. “I was supposed to do Ghostbusters. Didn’t do that, and Rush Hour. Didn’t do that. Oh, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.” he added. “Those are my big three ‘wish I would have done’ movies.”

While Rush Hour‘s outlook might be a little more clear, it’s not too hard to see why Murphy passed on Ghostbusters and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. For the latter, Murphy was considered for the part of Eddie Valiant, the noir-style gumshoe forced to pair with a cartoon rabbit who gets pinned with an unjust charge. Today, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a certified classic, but Bob Hoskins, who eventually got the part as Eddie, couldn’t always see the vision of Robert Zemeckis. Moreover, the early process of combining live action and animation created a unique challenge and an often grueling set, something that a star of Murphy’s caliber may not find appealing.

Even more unsurprising is Murphy’s decision to turn down Ghostbusters. A devoted follower of all things supernatural, Aykroyd initially imagined the film as a three-hour horror epic with only some comedic elements. Moreover, while the two worked well together in 1983’s Trading Places, it was clear that Murphy was about the skyrocket to stardom. He certainly didn’t need to be part of an ensemble with other SNL vets.

Nothing symbolizes the change of Murphy’s status than the movie posters of 1984. He was missing from the line-up on the poster for Ghostbusters, which released in June of that year. But the poster for Beverly Hills Cop, which would hit theaters just a few months later, was all Eddie. Beverly Hills Cop was powered entirely by Murphy’s Bugs Bunny-style energy, proving that he could bring his comedic talent to even a movie that began as a Sylvester Stallone action flick. The fact that Ghostbusters did slightly better numbers than Beverly Hills Cop, grossing $370 million over the crime comedy’s $320 million, doesn’t distract from the role it played in Murphy’s ascension.

Today, Murphy finds comfort in the decision. “With Ghostbusters, I did Beverly Hills Cop instead,” he pointed out. Given that the franchise spawned four entries, including the well-received recent movie Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, it’s hard to say he made the wrong choice. Sometimes, it pays to say no, even when the Ghostbusters call.

Being Eddie is now streaming on Netflix.