Ghostbusters: 5 Things You May Have Missed In The New Frozen Empire Trailers
Paul Rudd has it right — bustin' makes us feel good, but releasing two new trailers makes us positively ecstatic. Following the initial chilling teaser for "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," domestic and international trailers for the upcoming sequel have materialized, presenting very different vibes and many exciting teases that should have fans of the franchise picking them apart.
Crossing the streams of comedy and creeps in equal measure, the previews assure fans that no one is safe in the latest battle for the souls of New York as the Spengler family teams up with the OG paranormal investigators for more than just a last-minute cameo this time around.
But between some familiar faces (both living and dead) reappearing and the Big Apple dropping a few hundred degrees, what small details are sending our PKE meter readings off the charts? Could New York's newest proton-pack-carrying heroes be about to align themselves with some of the most iconic apparitions in the franchise? Might a previous Ghostbusters foe be on course to once again stall the team's efforts to save the city and take an ancient evil down? Will our team finally do the unthinkable and join forces with the most unlikely allies imaginable? Here's what we've spotted on the way in "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," while avoiding as much slime as possible, of course.
Frozen Empire resurrects the Ghostbusters' first ghost (and we don't mean Slimer)
To have a legacyquel without any nostalgic nods to what came before would be, quite frankly, criminal, so it's good to see that "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" is paying respects to the original films by way of some familiar specters. Besides Slimer dropping in and mini-Stay Puft marshmallow men engaging in some adorable sadism, both trailers also show Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) heading back to where it all began and reuniting with a deceased admirer of the Dewey Decimal System — the horrifying Library Ghost, aka Eleanor Twitty.
Going as far as to even wear the same coat he wore in 1984 when he first met the haunting apparition that loves to hush people, this scene should bring the best kind of chills for fans of the franchise. While there's no confirmation that Ray communicates fully with the dearly departed Twitty this time, it makes us wonder why he would want to go back to the dark corner of the New York City Public Library in the first place.
Might the OG team member be looking for answers on how the Ghostbusters could defeat their new adversary? If so, the librarian's ghost could have some advice in her records — if she doesn't scare Ray half to death again. Who knows, though? Maybe this time, he might actually get to the root of Twitty's issues rather than simply apply the old-fashioned tactic of "Get her!"
Who Is Walter Peck: The Ghostbusters' Worst (Human) Enemy, Explained
Well, it's finally happened. Hell has frozen over, dogs and cats are probably living together, and the Ghostbusters are having to deal with the return of Walter Peck, aka, well ... a nickname we won't repeat here, but you know exactly what it is.
Returning to the franchise after 40 years, the master of '80s annoyances, William Atherton, reprises his role as the former Environmental Protection Agency inspector to seemingly once again stop the Ghostbusters, even though they're exactly where they need to be. The concern, however, is that Peck's encounter with the group of young-blood Ghostbusters in the trailer indicates he's now the Mayor of New York City.
Playing like a reenactment of the classic scene from the original film, Peck's voiceover at the start of the domestic trailer suggests that the Ghostbusters' battle with Zuul was either covered up or forgotten about. Having this epic fight phased out of history appears to have worked in his favor, given that (and we're hoping this isn't the case) Peck may be an NYC mayor who still has an axe to grind with our heroes. Could having that kind of power stall our heroes from saving the day when the new frozen foe comes to town? Possibly. But it's a new era, and hopefully, Peck will learn the error of his ways and be ready to believe the heroes he's hated for so long.
Things are looking 'Real' familiar
Library Ghost? Check. Slimer? Check. Stay Puft mini men? Check. Regarding paranormal appearances, the gang of ghouls that casual "Ghostbusters" fans will be familiar with are all here. However, some extra details sprinkled in both trailers verify previous comments about the film and the sources it's pulling from.
In November 2023, one of the movie's supporting stars, Kumail Nanjiani, said that "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" feels like the '80s cartoon on purpose, and what's on display in the trailers certainly indicates that things really do resemble the animated series. Not only do some of the villains resemble ones from the show, but even iconic characters we've known from the beginning are mirroring their "The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon series looks.
One of the more notable nods is the spooky apparition evading the Ecto-1 and the team's new drone ghost trap. The apparition slithering through the sky strongly resembles the Eel Ghost that appeared in the animated series in Season 5, Episode 5, "Partners in Slime."
There's also a wink to Janine's cartoon look as well. In addition to finally getting her own uniform in "Frozen Empire," she has blue glasses to match her animated iteration, as opposed to the red ones she wore in the original films.
Not all ghosts are evil in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
While most of the close encounters with the afterlife in the "Ghostbusters" franchise have ended with our heroes running scared or shooting streams into the air and hoping for the best, "Frozen Empire" might see the ethereal inhabitants of this world being friendly for a change. Well, a little less hostile, at least. In both trailers, we can see that the Ghostbusters organization has had a few more dollars to spare than they did in the original films, represented in both a seemingly larger containment unit and more staff to run it.
What's more, not all of their captives are hidden away in a big red box. The mini-Stay Puft marshmallow men are running free, while others are kept behind some form of ghost-proof glass, like the slime-spewing new spook, Pukey (whose name was confirmed via its Funko Pop). Could these more open confines be what keeps some of the spirits on the side of good and, more specifically, see Slimer finally join the team just like in the animated series?
Early on in the domestic trailer, Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard) can be heard saying, "We're going to need all the help we can get" for what Stantz describes as "an unimaginable evil, commanding an army of ghosts." Could this explain why Trevor is later shown interacting with Slimer at the end of both previews, finally bringing one of the most fun elements of the show into the big-screen franchise? We'd bet our freshly polished proton packs that it is.
Is this the beginning of the Ghost Corps?
Not to jump too far ahead, but given the expansion of the Ghostbusters home base and its occupants, are we finally seeing what the franchise has been aiming for since the 2016 film "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call?" Both that ill-received entry and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" were released under the "Ghost Corps" label established in 2015 to handle all projects linked to the original film. The aim was to build a cinematic universe as Sony delved further into this world through new movies, TV shows, and more. "Frozen Empire" seems like it will lay significant groundwork toward this goal.
Beyond being a paranormal research center where Winston says ghosts are allowed to "hang out" while they're being studied, the lab in the trailer is also the workplace of the newest Ghostbuster employee, Lars Pinfield (James Acaster). We see him in several scenes, handling traps and foolishly grabbing the satanic snowball at the center of the latest mess. In addition to his slip-up with the cursed item, Lars is shown amid all the new equipment and other employees of the apparently healthy business.
Besides wearing an altered version of the iconic logo that swaps the warning band for a cog variant (Is Lars in the engineering department?), there's also a black van and Janine using a wristband-like gun instead of the classic Particle Thrower. Ultimately, it's clear our heroes are back in business, and we can't wait to see them get to work when "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" arrives on March 22.