Could you imagine a world where Emma Stone wasn't an A-list star? Probably not. Her big blue eyes have been featured in countless movies ever since her big break in 2007's Superbad. But there was almost a moment where her career could've been destined for a truckstop portapotty. Or, at the very least, somewhere other than the prestigious Kodak Theater stage on Oscar Sunday.
While Emma has certainly had a few regrettable movies among her mostly stellar filmography, the choice to turn down a major role in one of the most hated and controversial films of the 2010s was probably the best decision of her life.
The Movie Emma Avoided During A Time When Her Star-Power Was On The Rise
Think back to 2016. It was the start of a time of great political upheaval and also a moment where we lost several of the world's most beloved stars. But, at the same time, Emma Stone's career was one of the hottest in the industry.
After a few years of build-up, thanks to acclaimed projects such as Birdman and big blockbusters like The Amazing Spider-Man films, Emma was set to release the movie that would earn her an Academy Award. This, of course, was Damien Chazelle's musical hit, La La Land.
Even though Emma wasn't supposed to star in La La Land, the fact that Emma Watson dropped out opened the door for her to show off an insane amount of acting chops.
Around the same time La La Land was offered to her, so was another project with a lot of money thrown behind it... The all-female-led Ghostbusters revamp. Had she chosen to play an undisclosed lead role in 2016's Ghostbusters, Emma simply wouldn't have been able to star in La La Land, win an Academy Award, or get cast in the prestigious follow-up projects; Battle of the Sexes, The Favorite, Maniac, and now Disney's Cruella.
Instead, she would've had a film career similar to the women who did end up starring in the absolutely loathed sci-fi comedy... And let's face it... all of those undeniably talented women have had a hard time building back their careers.
Why Emma Was Chosen For Ghostbusters And Why She Turned It Down
Right off the bat, we should probably say that Ghostbusters 2016 wasn't the worst movie ever made. Much of the internet hate directed at the film appeared to be about a disdain for Hollywood going back and redoing classics, women-washing an exciting project instead of creating something new to showcase the power of diversity, and also a definite heap of good-old-fashioned sexism. While many have claimed that the hate leveled against Paul Feig's revamp of the Bill Murray classic was purely to do with sexism, the truth is that multiple things can be true at once.
On top of all of this, the execution of the film itself was average... at best! Most critics thought the film was a massive 'misfire', according to The Guardian. Therefore, Emma was pretty smart to avoid being a part of it.
According to The Toronto Star, Bill Murray was asked to compile a list of talented and funny women that he thought would be great to star in the all-female Ghostbusters revamp. This, of course, was during a time before he agreed to return to the franchise in the upcoming canon-continuing Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Perhaps Bill recognized that the idea to redo Ghostbusters just with all women was flawed or seemed like a money grab. And, to be fair, Ghostbusters 2016, did make A LOT of money... Just maybe not for the right reasons.
Anyway, on this list that Bill Murray composed was Emma Stone's name. So, Paul went right to Emma and asked her to read the script. She did, and told The Wall Street Journal that it was, "Really funny."
...Just not funny enough to actually star in.
According to The Wall Street Journal interview, Emma claimed that taking a role in the film "Just didn't feel like the right [decision for the] time."
Due to the box-office success of 2016's Ghostbusters, Emma Stone's financially stellar career might not have been damaged initially. But due to all of the hate, the general reception of the quality of the film, and the timing of the film's production and release, it would have absolutely tanked her incredible rise to stardom.
Even though Emma has been incredibly gracious and polite about turning down the undisclosed starring role in Ghostbusters, it's clear from her decision that she and her representation knew that it was the right choice.