Warning: SPOILERS for Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife has many references to, and cameos from, the original Ghostbusters movie, but Rick Moranis's Louis Tully doesn't return. In Ghostbusters, Rick Moranis is a nerdy accountant who is possessed by a Terror Dog, becoming the "Keymaster." Together with Sigourney Weaver's Dana Barrett (also possessed), they seek to bring forth Gozer the Destroyer. Moranis reprised his role for Ghostbusters 2, attempting to become the fifth Ghostbuster and aid them in defeating Vigo the Carpathian.
Rick Moranis was part of some of the most iconic movies of the 1980s. In addition to the Ghostbusters franchise, he also starred in the cult classic musical Little Shop of Horrors, Star Wars parody Spaceballs, and Disney's sci-fi comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Since his 1980s heyday, however, Rick Moranis slowed down his film work significantly in the 1990s to prioritize raising his kids as a single father. Meanwhile, Ghostbusters: Afterlife sees the long-awaited return of original Ghostbusters Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson in extended cameo roles. Harold Ramis also posthumously returns as a ghost (via CGI and a body-double), while Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver have short cameos.
While it was originally speculated that he would join his fellow castmates from the original Ghostbusters and return for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Rick Moranis doesn't appear in a cameo role. Despite his extended absence from cinema screens, Rick Moranis hasn't retired from acting completely but now focuses more on voice acting and writing. He's also notoriously picky about the roles he takes and was apparently disappointed in Ghostbusters 2. It's also not the first time that Rick Moranis has turned down the chance to reprise his role as Louis Tully. Each member of the Ghostbusters lent their voices and likenesses to the 2009 release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, but Moranis passed on returning. He also decided not to cameo in Paul Feig's 2016 reboot Ghostbusters, saying that it didn't make sense to him to "do just one day of shooting on something I did 30 years ago.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)
Legacy sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set in a small town in Oklahoma, and largely centers on the new generation of Ghostbusters. While the return of the original Ghostbusters late in the third act works for the story, it would have been difficult to shoehorn Rick Moranis' Louis Tully into proceedings without it feeling forced. Even Sigourney Weaver's Dana had to be squeezed into the mid-credits scene as fan service, and any Rick Moranis cameo would probably have had to follow that template in order to work. Given his aversion to a walk-on cameo for 2016's Ghostbusters, it's entirely understandable why he isn't part of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Notwithstanding this, Rick Moranis has returned to his famous roles when he feels it works. He voiced Spaceball's Dark Helmet in an episode of The Goldbergs, and will be back on theater screens for the first time in years for the upcoming legacy sequel, Shrunk, resurrecting the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise. The end credits scene in Ghostbusters: Afterlife sets up another potential sequel back in New York. If there is more for Louis Tully to do in a future Ghostbusters movie, then Rick Moranis may then reconsider returning to the role.
source https://screenrant.com/ghostbusters-afterlife-rick-moranis-no-cameo/
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