Bill Murray (St. Vincent) will indeed appear in the Ghostbusters reboot. Starring Melissa McCarthy (Spy), Kristen Wiig (The Skeleton Twins), Kate McKinnon (Ted 2), Leslie Jones (Top Five), and Chris Hemsworth (Avengers: Age of Ultron) with Paul Feig (Spy) directing, Murray had previously stated he wouldn’t be involved in the reboot and said that reports claiming otherwise was “crazy talk.”
The actor – who joked with David Letterman earlier this year that the only way he’d do the film is if they killed him off “in the first reel” – played Dr. Peter Venkman in the original Ghostbusters, and later reprised his role for the less successful sequel in 1989. Murray last year went on to praise the casting for the reboot, calling it a “great idea” and describing the four women team as a “murderer’s row” of comedic talent. The actor similarly had nothing but adoration for director Feig and his work on Bridesmaids:
“It was so funny, crossed all kinds of lines, and had such great integrity. The jokes were so good and they had so much fun, obviously. I look at these people and I think, hey, they get it! They know how to have fun!”
For now, Murray remains the only cast member from the original Ghostbusters film to join the reboot, but he’s certainly considered the most vital part from the original core members, so perhaps some more casting news may be forthcoming regarding Dan Akroyd (Tammy) and Ernie Hudson (Netflix’s Grace and Frankie). Harold Ramis (Funny People), who passed away last year, was the fourth member of the original gang.
Ghostbusters is currently in production for Sony and is set for release in July of 2016.