Credit: Sony PicturesWhile the upcoming sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) was recently pushed back until March next year, that hasn’t stopped the Ecto Containment Unit over at Sony Pictures from unleashing plenty of news over the past year.
From casting to snippets of the film’s synopsis, and filming locations to the return of legacy characters, we’ve had our fair share of details around the new movie. We also know that it will continue the Spengler family story, this time taking place in New York City instead of Summerville, Oklahoma.
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We also know that it stars the Afterlife ensemble, McKenna Grace (Phoebe), Logan Kim (Podcast), Celeste O’Connor (Lucky), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor), Carrie Coon (Callie), Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz), Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson), William Atherton (Walter Peck), and original Ghostbusters Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), and Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore).
Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster, and Emily Alyn Lind have been cast in undisclosed roles.
Earlier this year, we also got to see the official poster, which shows the iconic Ghostbusters logo covered in ice, which suggests that the sequel could be a Christmas movie in which New York City is perhaps about to get frozen over by some supernatural entity.
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Tackling the Christmas movie genre would certainly be an interesting approach for a film in this series. While the debate as to whether or not Ghostbusters II (1989) is a Christmas movie continues, it’s time the franchise cashed in on the season of goodwill.
After all, the recent DLC (downloadable) content for the asymmetrical multiplayer game Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (2022) goes all in for Halloween by bringing back the iconic villain Samhain from the animated series The Real Ghostbusters (1986 — 1991).
On the other hand, it might be a little disappointing if the upcoming sequel is a festive flick, as it’s missed its initial December release.
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Now, some new information suggests that Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 (2024) may indeed be a Christmas movie, as the title is rumored to have been leaked. The working title for the film is Ghostbusters: Firehouse, and though it’s possible it may keep that name when it’s released in theaters next year, rumor has it that it’s now called Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
This certainly aligns with the frozen logo, while “Empire” likely pertains to the Empire State Building, or New York City being the “Empire State,” or perhaps even an “empire” of supernatural beings (maybe all three).
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According to Kino Check, the rumor started from an alleged “insider” on X (formerly known as Twitter). The Wikipedia page for the film now also shows the title Frozen Empire above the poster. But this title is only a rumor at present. It should be noted that Sony Pictures has not confirmed anything.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 releases in theaters on March 29, 2024. It follows Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II, and Afterlife. Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) takes place in a separate continuity (although the upcoming film will officially be connected to the reboot).
If the new film tampers with the Ghostbusters Multiverse, which has been explored many times in IDW Publishing’s comic book series, it’s possible characters from the reboot will appear.
The new film is directed by Gil Kenan and stars McKenna Grace (Phoebe), Logan Kim (Podcast), Celeste O’Connor (Lucky), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor), Carrie Coon (Callie), Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz), Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson), William Atherton (Walter Peck), Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster, and Emily Alyn Lind.
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