Ernie Hudson says, worringly, that new Ghostbusters movie doesn’t go in the direction he would go

Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson has called the upcoming sequel “different”, promising a “new direction”. 

Hudson, reports Ghostbusters News, who earlier this year, seemingly became slightly more vocal over dealings with Columbia Pictures, voicing his displeasure of, among other things, being left off promotional posters and marketing materials, stating that the studio has not been inclusive and that “it felt deliberate,” would admit that it’s always been one of his “biggest complaints,” but clarifying that it’s not an issue unique to him.

“Yeah, it’s good because of fans have always been really encouraging and supportive. The studio has always been sort of my biggest complaint, and honestly, a lot of people misinterpret it to say that I think the studios did something they shouldn’t have done. No, studios do what they do; it’s not just me personally; that’s how they operate and what they feel is necessary.”

In 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Hudson’s character, Winston Zeddemore, was said to have coined a fortune, going into finance, allowing for the Ghostbusters’ return to New York City in the upcoming sequel, with Hudson feeling that this change has finally given Winston “a purpose for being there”.

WATCH: THE BIG INTERVIEW: FTN interviews Ernie Hudson

“But Winston, I think his place, what this last movie Afterlife did was it gave him a place to be a purpose. You know, “Why is he here?” Well, he’s the guy who has the money to keep this thing going. So that was good; it wasn’t so much more because we do have these new characters, we’re introducing new stories, but he has a place and purpose for being there. I think in earlier movies, you establish the friendship between the three guys; they’ve already established a business, so how much do we — and I don’t totally understand all that, but Winston definitely has a place. Now, how much of a place and all of that that gets decided on by other people.”

Hudson also mentioned that the new film would take the franchise in a “new direction,” though not one that he necessarily agrees with: “Also, as we introduce new stories and new characters, that’s what moves the whole thing forward, but we’re still a part of it, so it was great to see Bill Murray, and Danny Aykroyd, Annie Potts; it’s great to see them there, and really just enjoying it and enthusiastic about being there.

“It’s different, it’s not necessarily the direction I would go in, but I just love being part of it, and I think the fans will like this new direction, but we’ll see.”

Having interviewed Ernie Hudson years before Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, and he had a clear idea in his head where the Ghostbusters seres should go, should it ever continue and, in fairness, Ghostbusters: Afterlife did set up what he predicted, with his character, Winston Zeddemore, being set up as the new boss of a bigger Ghostbusters organisation and it’s for this reason that I’m worried about his saying the new movie does not go in the direction he would go in… in fact, this concerns me greatly.

I hope I’m proven wrong this Christmas when the movie comes out.

Slated to arrive in theaters on December 20th, 2023, in addition to franchise originals, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Annie Potts, the untitled Ghostbusters sequel will also include the returning cast of Afterlife, Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Logan Kim, and Celeste O’Connor, and new additions Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster, and Emily Alyn Lind.

THE BIG INTERVIEW: We chat to Ghostbusters: Answer The Call writer & director Paul Feig