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Ghostbusters cast reunite to talk about John Candy almost starring, and more

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Published on June 15, 2020 03:26PM EDT

The original cast of Ghostbusters reunited as part of Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart, and it wasn't long before secrets began spilling out.

Director Ivan Reitman opened up about how John Candy was almost part of the original cast, alongside Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson, but the role eventually went to Rick Moranis. Moranis brought to life nerdy accountant Louis Tully in the film, who in the film's sequel earns his law degree and represents the Ghostbusters at their trial.

"I sent the script, the very first script, to John who didn't really get it," Reitman explained. "He kept wanting to play him with a German accent with a couple of dogs, big German Shepherd dogs [by his side]. I said, 'I think that'll be confusing given that dogs that are already on the roof. I don't think we can bring more dogs.'"

Candy wasn't the only one with canines on his mind. Sigourney Weaver, who played cellist Dana Barrett in the first two Ghostbusters films, remembered her audition for Reitman where she says she "had to become a dog."

"I was really willing to become a dog for the whole show," Weaver remembered. "So he looked quite reluctant, I kept going and howling and growling."

Reitman added, "The wonderful thing Sigourney said at the audition was, 'You know, I read the script and it's very funny but really, my character should become a dog at some point.' And we didn't have that yet, it was Sigourney's idea."

Three decades after the release of Ghostbusters II, a third installment of the film was greenlit with Reitman's son Jason taking the helm as director. Ghostbusters: Afterlife was set to be released in the summer of 2020 but was pushed to March 5, 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Watch the reunion in full above.

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Ghostbusters cast reunite to talk about John Candy almost starring, and more

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