Ghostbusters: Dan Aykroyd Reveals Hit 1995 Movie Is Canon to Franchise

by

You know, it’s funny looking back at some of my early roles. I was thrilled to be in Casper back in ’95! It was a fun movie, and I even got to play Ray Stantz again – you might remember him from Ghostbusters. It was a neat little cameo, and a chance to revisit a character I really enjoyed.

Dan Aykroyd recently shared on the Talking Strange podcast that his appearance in the 1995 film Casper is officially part of the Ghostbusters story. He explained that it was actually director Steven Spielberg who asked him to be in the movie. Spielberg was an executive producer on Casper through his production company, Amblin Entertainment.

Aykroyd explained that Steven Spielberg specifically requested his involvement and that the filmmakers incorporated his character into the new film. He feels it’s a wonderful tribute to the original movies he made with Ivan Reitman and believes it definitively belongs as part of the Ghostbusters story.

What was Dan Aykroyd’s Ghostbusters cameo in Casper?

In the 1995 film Casper, Dan Aykroyd makes a quick appearance as his famous Ghostbusters character, Ray Stantz. He’s one of the paranormal investigators hired by the movie’s villains to evict the playful ghosts from Whipstaff Manor in Maine. But his ghost-busting skills prove surprisingly ineffective against the troublesome trio of Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso.

As a movie fan, I remember being really intrigued by this one! It was Brad Silberling’s first time directing a feature film, and it was based on the classic Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon from Harvey Comics. The live-action cast was surprisingly great – Bill Pullman played Dr. Harvey, and Christina Ricci was fantastic as Kat. Plus, it had a ton of familiar faces like Brad Garrett, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle, Ben Stein, and even Devon Sawa. The voice cast was perfect too – Malachi Pearson as Casper, and the ghosts Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso were voiced by Joe Nipote, Joe Alasky, and Garrett. And get this – Dan Aykroyd wasn’t the only celebrity cameo! They managed to snag appearances from Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood, and the one and only Rodney Dangerfield! It was a fun, quirky movie.

Read More

2025-11-19 19:26