Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Trailer Breakdown
A new trailer has dropped for ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’, and there’s plenty to breakdown.
The movie is a direct sequel to the 2021 film ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’, with several carryovers
from that entry, particularly in the main cast of characters.
The trailer shows a return to New York City, the location of the first two movies, and the
Ghostbusters are back in business, working out of the firehouse that served as their original
headquarters.
There’s a new ghostly threat teased, and it looks like it’s going to be a huge problem to
overcome, with Ray Stantz describing it as “An unimaginable evil, commanding an army of
ghosts, with the power to kill by fear itself.” It’s also covering the city in ice which could end as
the “second ice age”. Clearly this is a powerful adversary, and the Ghostbusters are going to
need all the help they can get. Not only is the entire Spengler family suited up to face it, but also
Gary Grooberson, their former schoolteacher, as well as the three surviving members of the
original team. Even Janine Melnitz gets to pull on the iconic overalls and pick up a proton pack
to help out!
It looks like the threat calls for some new equipment, too, as the team now has a ghost trap
mounted on a drone, allowing them to catch ghouls while on the move.
Like in ‘Ghostbuster: Afterlife’, there are plenty of callbacks and references to the original
movies, not just with the return of Ray Stantz, Pete Venkman and Winston Zeddermore, but
also the mini Stay Puft marshmallow men and Janine answering the phone with her signature
“Ghostbusters. Whaddya want?” It also looks like Slimer has returned after being absent from
Afterlife, and this time it’s Trevor who’s getting slimed by the green ghoulie. There’s what looks
to be the librarian ghost from the first movie, too.
The biggest callback to the original movie is the return of Walter Peck. In 1984 he was an
inspector for the Environmental Protection Agency who accused the Ghostbusters of violating
environmental laws and ended up releasing all the ghosts they’d caught when he shut down
their containment system. Now he’s risen to greater things and become mayor of New York.
Once again he’s determined to stop the Ghostbusters from doing what’s necessary to keep the
city safe, and could prove as challenging an obstacle as the ghosts themselves.
It looks like it’s going to be a great watch, full of laughs, scares, and some nice nods to the
original movies. It doesn’t seem likely Egon Spengler will have a role in the film. Harold Ramis,
the original actor, died in 2014, though he had a cameo as a ghost in ‘Afterlife’ made using
archive footage, but at the end of the movie he passed into the afterlife, bringing an end to the
character.
The movie looks like it could offer a more exciting story than its predecessor, with a new villain,
higher stakes, and the bigger setting of New York all setting up what looks to be an enjoyable
experience.
‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ will be released in theaters on March 22.