Eugene Levy’s Deleted Ghostbusters 2 Cameo Explained

Eugene Levy had a deleted cameo in Ghostbusters 2. In the sequel, the gang — previously forced out of business — returned due to a surge in supernatural activity; however, the Ghostbusters team were committed to a psychiatric hospital by the mayor’s assistant, in a politically motivated move. Eventually, the mayor discovered what happened, fired his assistant and then released the team in time for them to save the day — but in the original script, the team was liberated by a character played by Eugene Levy.

In the original Ghostbusters 2 scene, Sherman Tully (Eugene Levy), a dermatologist at the hospital — and the cousin of Rick Moranis’ Louis Tully — helped the team of scientists escape. In the scene, Louis and Sherman left the hospital with the Ghostbusters adorned in their famous uniforms. Louis told Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) that he promised his cousin a ride in the Ectomobile to return the favor. In the script, a starstruck Sherman shared a dream with the gang involving his deceased grandfather before they interjected with a swift exit. A funny quip from Sherman followed about how he thought Louis was the fifth Ghostbuster, to which Louis replied, “I let them handle all the little stuff. I just come in on the big ones.”

According to Spook Central, the scene was filmed with Eugene Levy in the role of Sherman; however, it didn’t make it into the final cut. Likely the director Ivan Reitman opted to cut the sequence to provide better pacing in the sequel. The implication of the mayor freeing the Ghostbusters, rather than the introduction of a new character this late in the game, helped to move the film along. This choice allowed for a quicker transition from the hospital to the museum that harbored the source of the mutant pink slime.

Eugene Levy was the perfect choice to play Louis’ cousin — not only do the two have similar comedic styles, but the two rose to fame together on the Canadian sketch show SCTV. Though this deleted scene could have added to Eugene’s career of notable characters, it ultimately took away from the flow of the film and only delayed the final battle between the Ghostbusters and Vigo the Carpathian. Plus, at this point, the creators were familiar with changes in the script, having dropped the original story plan involving a banshee as the main antagonist. Ultimately, the deleted scene didn’t contribute anything major to the plot, and if anything only hindered the action.

Yet, the creators lost foresight in the longevity of this iconic scene. According to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, fans went so far as to create a Kickstarter campaign in hopes of raising money to assemble this lost footage. Sadly, the campaign did not meet its goal. The excitement over Eugene Levy’s cameo serves as further proof of the franchise’s endurance and the legacy of Ghostbusters 2.

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