The surviving original Ghostbusters — Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, plus, as their intrepid former assistant Janine, Annie Potts — all appeared in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. But those were very much cameos in a film that was about the heretofore unmentioned family of the late great Egon Spengler (RIP Harold Ramis). Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire still includes Egon’s daughter and grandkids — played by Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard — and it still has their friend and teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) in it as well. And it also has, at least based on the trailer, substantially bigger roles for the O.G. Ghostbusters as well.
It probably helps that unlike Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which took place in Oklahoma, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is set in New York City. So this time we get to see the New York Public Library again (this time the lion statues outside come to life!) and the old Firehouse, and Venkman, Stanz, and Zeddemore are all much more involved in stopping the latest scary ghost that needs to be busted before it destroys the world or whatever. (Why aren’t there any ghosts, besides Slimer, who just want to chill and eat junk food or whatever? Why does the afterlife have to be so intense?)
Check out the full Frozen Empire trailer below, which includes quite a few callbacks to the original movie as you might expect — including an appearance from Walter Peck (William Atherton), the Busters’ old adversary from the Environmental Protection Agency:
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Here is Frozen Empire’s official synopsis:
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is scheduled to open in theaters on March 22.
