Credit: Sony PicturesGhostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) might be completely unrelated to Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), but given the ongoing Multiverse trend with major blockbusters, it could feature characters from the controversial reboot in preparation for a future sequel.
Here’s how it will probably happen.
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call
It’s understandable that many fans choose to forget that Ghostbusters: Answer the Call doesn’t exist. After all, it isn’t great, and the tidal wave of controversy it created before even hitting theaters is something most people would rather pretend never happened.
Unfortunately, the film didn’t prove the masses wrong when it was eventually released in theaters in 2016 — although let it be said that it does have its fans. Adding to that, no one should be ridiculed for liking the film ( in its defense, it also gets a few things right).
ATC also came under heavy fire for featuring an all-female cast (it may have been the first film to be lambasted for it). Nothing has been quite the same with Hollywood movies since, but it was the film’s box office performance that led to Sony Pictures hitting reset again.
Related: The Fifth ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie Could Feature Characters From the 2016 Reboot
Afterlife and Frozen Empire
Instead of opting for a sequel to the 2016 reboot, the studio decided to revert back to the timeline established in the first two films, Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), which is how we ended up with the legacy sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
The film received mostly positive reviews from fans and critics and grossed over $204M worldwide. Now, a direct sequel to that film, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the fourth film in the main series and fifth in the wider series, is weeks away from theatrical release.
Marketing for the film is now so strong you could pick it up on a PKE Meter. Three trailers, featurettes, interviews with the cast and crew, and an Empire magazine world exclusive. But does the film have any surprises left in the tank (AKA the Ecto Containment Unit)?
Related: ‘Ghostbusters 4’ Could Be Gearing Up to Open the Multiverse
IDW Publishing Ghostbusters
Director Gil Kenan and writer/producer Jason Reitman have admitted that the ’80s cartoon The Real Ghostbusters (1986 — 1991) has inspired the ghosts in Frozen Empire, but the film also appears to be taking many pages out of the IDW Publishing Ghostbusters comic books.
For starters, Frozen Empire features several Ghostbusters (the Afterlife ensemble — which now includes Carrie Coon’s Callie Spengler and Paul Rudd’s Gary Grooberson — and the OG gang with Annie Potts’ Janine Melnitz — a concept the comics are no stranger to handling.
Then there’s the idea of new teams being established around the world, which would be based on the IDW Publishing storyline Ghostbusters: International. This is something Gil Kenan has hinted at with future films, and Frozen Empire certainly lays the groundwork.
Related: Is the 2016 ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot Getting a Sequel?
What other IDW storylines will Frozen Empire utilize? The comic books makes good use of characters from the wider franchise, such as Kylie Griffin, the blue-haired paranormal investigator and eliminator who hails from the cartoon series Extreme Ghostbusters (1997).
But it also reaches into other, less canonical corners of the franchise, even pulling in the characters from the 2016 reboot in two Multiverse-centric storylines: Ghostbusters 101: Everyone Answers the Call and Ghostbusters: Crossing Over.
Answer the Call‘s Erin Gilbert, Abby Yates, Patty Tolan, and Jillian Holtzmann already enjoy their own IDW outing with the comic book of the same name, but seeing them team up with the original Ghostbusters is surprisingly good fun — even if you don’t like the 2016 film.
Related: The 2016 Reboot Wasn’t the First Female-Led ‘Ghostbusters’
Potential Ghostbusters Crossover Movie
It’s entirely possible that Frozen Empire will, at the very least, lean into the idea of “crossing the streams” with the Answer the Call universe. While that film is not popular with fans, it still has many parts worth salvaging, which IDW Publishing recognized several years ago.
Though it’s unlikely Leslie Jones (Patty Tolan) will return, as she reveals a grievance with Jason Reitman in her memoir, we may eventually see Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Kate McKinnon return as Erin Gilbert, Abby Yates, and Jillian Holtzmann, respectively.
While the upcoming sequel will probably remain focused on the story at hand (New York City being plunged into a supernatural Ice Age by an entity named Garraka), it may hint towards the Ghostbusters Multiverse during a mid-credits or post-credits scene.
Tying these two separate timelines together might seem pointless given how unpopular the reboot is, but when you look at films like Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and The Flash (2023), which brought back characters who were previously hated by fans, such as Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man and George Clooney’s Bruce Wayne/Batman, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Ghostbusters eventually crosses those streams.
No details have been shared by Sony Pictures or the filmmakers regarding any connection between the upcoming Ghostbusters sequel and the 2016 reboot.
Check out the domestic trailer for Frozen Empire below, per Sony Pictures:
Related: ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Trailer Breakdown
Per the official website, 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.
Frozen Empire stars Carrie Coon (Callie Spengler), Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson), McKenna Grace (Phoebe Spengler), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor Spengler), Celeste O’Connor (Lucky Domingo), Logan Kim (Podcast), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz), William Atherton (Walter Peck), Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), James Acaster (Lars Pinfield), Patton Oswalt (Dr. Hubert Wartzki), Kumail Nanjiani (Nadeem Razmaadi), and Emily Alyn Lind in an undisclosed role.
The film will be released in theaters on March 22, 2024.
The Ghostbusters franchises continues to expand. With Frozen Empire heading to theaters, the first issue in a brand-new, four-part comic book series titled Ghostbusters: Back in Town (2024) from Dark Horse Comics, which bridges the gap between Afterlife and the new film, will be released on March 27. A Ghostbusters animated series and a Ghostbusters animated movie are also in production and will stream on Netflix in the near future. Meanwhile, it is rumored that Ghostbusters will be returning to Universal Studios theme parks.
Would you like to see the main Ghostbusters film series “cross the streams” with the reboot? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!