Credit: Sony PicturesIf you’re looking for the first trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2, who ya gonna call..?
It’s hard to believe that Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) is already two years old, especially considering fans waited 23 years for a follow-up to Ghostbusters II (1989), the first sequel to the original film Ghostbusters (1984).
A third movie did arrive seven years ago in the form of Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), the reboot from director Paul Feig; however, controversy surrounded that film like a supernatural storm cloud might gather above Manhattan to herald the arrival of Gozer.
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The reboot may have featured cameos from original Ghostbusters actors Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson, but it was a critical and financial failure, which is why Sony Pictures would re-establish the continuity of the first two films in the series, giving Jason Reitman, son of the late Ivan Reitman, director of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, the reins to Afterlife.
Afterlife was a huge success, catching $204.4 million in its proton streams against its $75 million budget (Answer the Call‘s budget was double that). Not only did it introduce new characters, it also featured welcome cameos from Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), and Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), while re-creating the late Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler) using special effects. The film received mostly positive reviews from fans and critics, and Sony Pictures wasted no time in greenlighting a sequel.
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Over the past year, we’ve seen quite a bit of paranormal activity surrounding the upcoming film. On Ghostbusters Day last year (June 8), Jason Reitman, who’s writing and producing the film, and Gil Kenan, who now has directorial duties, revealed that the film would be returning to New York City, where it would continue with the “Spengler family storyline.”
It was also given the working title Ghostbusters: Firehouse, a reference, of course, to the iconic Tribeca-based headquarters seen across the entire franchise, from the movies to the animated shows, and the toy lines to the video games and beyond.
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But what fans have been mostly interested in is the casting. Unsurprisingly, the Afterlife ensemble was confirmed to return: McKenna Grace, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd, will be reprising their roles as Phoebe Spengler, Podcast, Lucky Domingo, Trevor Spengler, Callie Spengler, and Gary Grooberson, respectively.
Dan Aykroyd previously confirmed that the children from the 2021 sequel will be trained as the next generation of Ghostbusters in the new film.
Then, several legacy actors were spotted on the streets of London, United Kingdom, where the film started shooting back in March (we’ll soon find out why). Soon after, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, and even William Atherton were confirmed to be reprising their roles as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Janine Melnitz, and Walter Peck, respectively.
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And after a lot of back and forth, Ernie Hudson finally confirmed his return as Winston Zeddemore. Franchise newcomers Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Alyn Lind, Patton Oswalt, and James Acaster were also cast in undisclosed roles.
Sadly, Sigourney Weaver confirmed in an interview earlier this year that she hadn’t been asked to reprise her role as Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2. She last appeared in a mid-credits scene in Afterlife.
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Over the past week, Ghostbusters has shared teasers via social media, from a spooky animation on Halloween to a teaser-for-a-trailer a couple of days ago. We’ve also seen a couple of rumored titles floating around. Are either of them true? Well, we can finally lay all those rumors to rest, because something strange just landed on YouTube…
Here’s the first official trailer for the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, per Sony Pictures:
There’s certainly a lot to unpack from this trailer, but one of the most exciting parts is seeing all the new Ghostbusters in action. The film is also officially titled Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and it looks like there’s a lot more than “a chill in the air” as previously teased across social media!
Per Sony Pictures (via Wikipedia), here’s the synopsis for the film:
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 directed by Gil Kenan, who also shares writing duties with Jason Reitman. It stars McKenna Grace (Phoebe), Logan Kim (Podcast), Celeste O’Connor (Lucky), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor), Carrie Coon (Callie), and Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson).
Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz), William Atherton (Walter Peck), Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Alyn Lind, Patton Oswalt, and James Acaster also star.
The film releases on March 29, 2024.
What do you think of the new Ghostbusters trailer? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!