He’s one of the most successful movie stars ever, but even Eddie Murphy has some regrets about some big projects coming his way that he let pass him by. In an interview with Associated Press, the star of Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor mentioned three films that were monster hits in their own right, but could’ve perhaps earned a little more at the box office had Murphy’s name been on the poster.
“Ghostbusters, I was supposed to do ‘Ghostbusters,'” Murphy revealed, which would’ve rounded out writer and star Dan Akroyd’s original plan of having a Saturday Night Live dream team involved, including the late John Belushi before his passing. “Didn’t do that, and Rush Hour. Didn’t do that. Oh, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Those are my big three ‘wish I would have done’ movies.”
Admittedly, all three films went on to become major successes on their own, even without Murphy. His role in Rush Hour went to Chris Tucker, playing Detective Carter opposite Jackie Chan’s quick-fisted, fish-out-of-water Chief Inspector Lee, a film that still grossed $245 million worldwide. The film was also followed up by two sequels, and a fourth film has been in development for quite some time.
As for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Bob Hoskins' gruff, grumpy detective forced to pair with an animated rabbit stands as a heavenly double act we didn’t know we needed. Besides being a groundbreaking entry in movie history for its special effects, it’s a great watch thanks to Hoskins' brilliant straight-man performance. It’s the kind of appearance we might never have had if Murphy had agreed to it. With that in mind, perhaps missing out on films like that wasn’t such a bad choice, after all.
