When the Ghostbusters return to the screen this summer, nearly everything about the movie will be different. The story is a completely fresh take on the material and, with the possible exception of the logo, very little will be carried over from the first two Ghostbuster movies. We didn’t think any of the previous characters would be making appearances, but now it turns out that may not be true. Slimer may have a scene in the new film after all.
Michael K. Williams has a role in the new Ghostbusters as an FBI agent who works with New York’s mayor. In a recent interview with EW Radio, reported on Comicbook.com, he was very excited to report that he shared a scene with the famous green ghost. As he put it:
I’m not going to lie, working with Melissa, and Kristen, and Kate, was really dope. But... I got to work with Slimer, dude. Like Slimer!!! I’m in a scene with Slimer! I’m a huge Ghostbusters fan and it was a dream come true.
This is interesting information to learn, especially since we were previously told that this wouldn’t be happening. A few months ago, an entry popped up on IMDB claiming that Simpsons voice actor Dan Castellaneta would be voicing the character of Slimer in the Ghostbusters reboot. While there was some confirmation to the information initially, director Paul Feig debunked the report.
There's a few different ways one can parse this new information. It could be that the ghost that Michael K. Williams appears with isn’t technically Slimer, but has some similarities to him, which made the actor think of Slimer. Alternately, it’s possible that Slimer was always planned for the film, but simply that the voice acting credit was not accurate, (as of now the entry on IMDB has been removed). This would seem to be the most likely, as Paul Feig’s tweet doesn’t necessarily state that Slimer won’t be in the film. Also, we saw a toy at the New York Toy Show, the same place where we learned who the movie’s main villain will be, that certainly looked like our old green friend.
If Slimer does appear in the new Ghostbusters, he’ll be the only one reprising his original role, though he won’t be the only familiar face. Much of the original cast, including Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver will appear in the movie, though not as their original characters.
Are you excited for the potential return of Slimer?
