Ernie Hudson’s Winston Zeddemore has always been the unsung hero of the Ghostbusters franchise, with the actor’s screen time hardly being reflective of his popularity among the fanbase. It took him five auditions to even get the role, which he agreed to play for half of his usual asking price because he was so impressed with the script, only for him to turn up on set and discover his part had been drastically reduced.
Winston was always an outlier given that Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman all went to college together, so it was important to have an outsider and skeptic’s perspective to enhance the dynamic, but after he’s hired for the job, Winston doesn’t really get much character development to speak of.
However, that’s all set to change when Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife finally hits theaters in November, with Hudson promising that Winston will finally receive a backstory. The 75 year-old recently took to social media and shared a photo of himself along with the director, revealing that not only has he seen the movie, but it left him speechless, as you can see below.
Yes, the smile in this picture is genuine. #Ghostbustersafterlife is so good, that I was speechless!@JasonReitman https://t.co/Leiqu5UkjC pic.twitter.com/K4kSJJfkoc
— Ernie Hudson (@Ernie_Hudson) April 19, 2021
Bill Murray also said Ghostbusters: Afterlife is going to be worth the wait, while original director Ivan Reitman was in tears after seeing how his son had rejuvenated the brand. Throw in a deft blend of the new and nostalgic, the always-welcome presence of Paul Rudd, a recognizable property and, of course, the mini Stay-Pufts, which are guaranteed to be merchandised to within an inch of their marshmallow lives after going down a storm online, and there are plenty of ingredients set to combine and deliver big box office success.
