Zombieland co-writer Rhett Reese has revealed that Joe Pesci was offered a cameo in the hit 2009 comedy horror, but his agent responded with a definite no. Set two months after mad cow disease has become mad people disease in the US, Zombieland follows Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a college student with a nervous disposition, as he navigates the zombie-ridden land, trying to survive by following his set of ‘rules’ (beware of bathrooms, travel light, and seatbelts to name a few). Running into other survivors along the way, Columbus builds up a rag-tag family to adventure with, ending up at one point in Bill Murray’s mansion. It has been previously revealed that this cameo was originally written for Patrick Swayze, who was battling cancer at the time, leading the creators to re-write the role for multiple other actors that could fit the bill, with Murray finally taking it on.
After the success of the first film, Zombieland: Double Tap was released in 2019, with the original cast returning including Eisenberg, as well as Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone. Bill Murray reprised his cameo too, this time in a mid-credit scene set in 2009, on day zero of the zombie outbreak. This saw Murray taking out zombies as he makes his escape from the press junket of the fictional Garfield 3: Flabby Tabby. Since the release of the sequel, director Ruben Fleischer has joked that he would make a third film in 2029 to follow the trend of the decade-long wait between the films.
On Twitter, Reese revealed that the role that ended up going to Bill Murray in Zombieland was also offered to Joe Pesci, but this was rejected since he wasn’t offered enough money. Although the writer warned Pesci’s agent against the ‘small parts’ stereotype, the response received was final. This potential cameo could have led to a very different scene within the film. Check out the tweet above.
What Joe Pesci's Zombieland Cameo Could Have Been Like
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Never one to shy away from comedic roles, Pesci’s filmography includes hits like Home Alone, and Home Alone 2, as well as the far more serious Goodfellas. Depending on which way the writers would have wanted Pesci to play his cameo, Zombieland could have included a cheeky jokester Pesci or a lean mean Italian-American gangster. Recently, Pesci has made a return to acting after announcing his retirement in 1999, with Pete Davidson’s comedy series Bupkis being his latest venture. Leaning further into his comedic side in his older age could be an indicator of what Pesci may have been willing to do back in 2009, had he been offered the right amount of money to get him interested.
While audiences were able to see Murray in this role on-screen rather than Pesci, it feels as though the Ghostbusters star was meant to be in Zombieland, with his unfortunate prank leading to his hilarious death. The thought of any other actor in this role feels tonally inconsistent, even if Hollywood royalty like Joe Pesci took the cameo role. There’s also always the possibility that other actors, including Pesci now that he’s back to acting, could make a cameo in a third Zombieland film if it’s ever made, with star Woody Harrelson already keen to make another movie.
Source: Twitter