‘Ghostbusters 3′ Casting Emma Stone and Jonah Hill?

The rumor mill on Ghostbusters 3 continues with the latest story that Jonah Hill and Emma Stone are currently being courted for roles in the long-detained third installment.

Rumors for Ghostbusters 3 have been quiet since this summer when Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd confirmed they would be meeting to further discuss the project.  Last word confirmed Dan Akyroyd was on board to act as Producer and reprise his role as Dr. Ray Stantz, Ivan Reitman would return as Director, and Bill Murray would not be returning as Dr. Peter Venkman.

Aykroyd has repeatedly made it clear that the new film will focus on the old team, all except Murray returning, passing the torch and focusing on a younger crew.  While almost no names have been thrown out for that new crew, Jonah Hill and Emma Stone were both named today as actors being actively sought out by the studio to don the jumpsuits and proton packs for the new team.  At this time, representatives from neither Hill nor Stone have commented on the rumors, and here’s hoping that only one of these is true.

Ghostbusters is one of the greatest comedies ever made and has a fiercely loyal fanbase.  It has been almost twenty five years since Ghostbusters 2, which was actually a disappointment compared to the original, so there’s a lot riding on this film.  Ghostbusters had one of the greatest comedic casts of all time, and finding the right people to continue that legacy should be of upmost importance.  Emma Stone is a terrific actress and could do the film justice, but Jonah Hill is definitely on the list of actors who should never be considered for this movie.  Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, and Sigourney Weaver all played characters in the original films.  When you compare their work before and since, they all were playing characters in Ghostbusters unlike their other work, such as Murray in Caddyshack, Aykroyd in Blues Brothers, Ramis in Stripes, etc.  But Jonah Hill is from the Judd Apatow school of comedy where it’s perfectly acceptable to play the same character in every film you are in.  Hill doesn’t play characters, he plays himself.  And to do the original Ghostbusters justice and give the audience something worth waiting twenty five years for we need a cast who can play roles in line with the pre-existing dynamic and expectations, not change the tone to fit the new cast and their approach to comedic films.