Bill Murray names four unexpected actors who could play him in the ‘SNL’ movie

Bill Murray has picked not one, not two, but four surprising actors he’d like to see play him in the upcoming Saturday Night Live movie, SNL 1975.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife‘s Jason Reitman is set to direct the film, which will tell the behind-the-scenes story of the show’s premiere episode on October 11, 1975.

The star-studded cast will see Maze Runner‘s Dylan O’Brien play Dan Aykroyd, while Succession‘s Nicholas Braun will portray Muppets mastermind Jim Henson. Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard has also been cast as an unnamed NBC intern.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the Ghostbusers: Frozen Empire premiere, Murray was asked if he’d spoken to Reitman about the upcoming SNL film.

“He’s been picking my brain about the SNL days since he was a grasshopper, so he knows a lot of what I know,” said Murray. “He’s an astute student and director. I’m blessed that this movie will really be about the original seven [SNL cast members]. I get to be on the sidelines. I think my name gets mentioned, which is good.”

Murray was then asked who he’d like to portray him in the film, to which he replied: “I like Kenan Thompson; he could play me. Or Bill Hader. Those two… or Kristen Wiig… any of those three could play me. Or Amy Poehler.

Bill Hader
Bill Hader on January 14, 2024 in Santa Monica, California. CREDIT: Getty/Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

SNL 1975 will be the second film Reitman has directed for Sony Pictures following Ghostbusers: Afterlife. He’s also serving as a co-writer and producer on the upcoming sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, directed by Gil Kenan.

Frozen Empire, which will arrive in cinemas on March 22, sees Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd all reprise their roles, alongside new additions Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster and Emily Alyn Lind. Original Ghostbuster stars Murrary, Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts also return.

In a four-star review of the first film, NME wrote: “It would be a shame to give anything away about the film’s emotionally satisfying climax, so let’s just say this: if you really want to tug at fans’ heartstrings, who ya gonna call?

“The result is a sequel that feels like an authentic Ghostbusters movie without quite slipping into retread mode. Against the odds, this franchise might be back from the dead.”

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