Recast: Ghostbusters!

Ghostbusters is a classic '80s movie.  We'll all pretend that the awful, awful sequel was never made, shall we? Hmmkay?  But what if they were to reboot the movie today? Who better to cast in it, I thought, than the cast of one of the most prominent reboots in recent years? The performers from the 2009 reboot of Star Trek! So, who ya gonna call?

Karl Urban as Peter Venkman.
Yeah, I know. 
Bill Murray would be a hard act to follow, especially in this role, but I think Urban could bring something to the role that Murray didn't: acting ability.
For all of his strengths as a comedian, Bill Murray is a horrible actor.
Urban has displayed real acting chops, as well as a surprising comedic ability.

Zachary Quinto as Egon Spengler.
Come on. This is pretty much a no-brainer.
Quinto's Spock is pretty much a less nerdier version of Egon. Put the man in some fake glasses and a lab coat, have him talk in a Syler-esque monotone and ta-da! We've got our Egon.

Gary Grunberg as Ray Stantz.
Yes, he was actually in the Star Trek reboot.  He was the voice of young Kirk's pissed off stepdad on the cellphone.  Sure, he never actually appeared in the movie, but he still performed in it. So there!
Grunberg can play the nice guy and, let's face it, we need someone really likable to play Ray Stantz, the heart of the Ghostbusters.

Winona Ryder as Janine Melnitz.
Okay, for a little while, I was tempted to cast Ryder in another part, but then I started thinking about it and figured she'd make a pretty good Janine.  She can play jaded and pissy, as evidenced by many of her previous films, and she can even do comedy.  Just make sure she checks in with her parole officer while shooting. *rimshot!*

Simon Pegg as Winston Zedmore.
Winston always struck me as the most down-to-earth and practical of the Ghostbusters, but he's also one of the funniest.  Pegg, I think, would do a fine Winston, as long as his performance didn't get too over-the-top. 

Zoe Saldana as Dana Barrett.
Initially, I thought of casting Ms. Saldana as Janine. There's a great pic of her online wearing nerdy glasses and when I first saw it I was like That is such a Janine look.  Then I thought about it and realized she'd make a better Dana Barrett, working as the foil to Urban's Venkman.

Bob Clendenin as Louis Tully.
Clendenin is a wonderful comedic actor who would make a great Louis Tully.  He couldn't play Tully as Rick Moranis did, this kind of oblivious and irritating nerd, but he'd be great as the socially awkward neighbor who may or may not be stalking Dana Barrett. Is he being helpful? Or just creepy? I think Clendenin could run with the role.

Bob Greenwood as Walter Peck.
The character of Walter  Peck comes across as a real douche bag.  He was an officious prick that really rubbed people the wrong way.  Greenwood, I think, could take the role in a similar direction, by just being generally unpleasant but super-polite about it all. :)

Faran Tahir as Gozer.
I wanted to surprise people with Gozer and I think Faran Tahir would do that very well.  He's an intense performer and I think it would be interesting to see what he would do with the role.  Gozer's role isn't that large, but is critical to the movie. 

There were a couple of secondary roles in Ghostbusters that I gave some thought to as well.  Leonard Nimoy as Dean Yager, John Cho as the library administrator, Marlene Forte as the realtor who sells them the firehouse, and Tyler Perry as the hotel concierge.  And, somehow, I'd love to cast Chris Pine as the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, just because I think that'd be funny.