It’s learned the upcoming Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire movie is in part inspired by the popular 1980s cartoon, The Real Ghostbusters, which aired for seven seasons and 140 episodes starting back in 1985 and airing until 1991.
The flick is featured in the new issue of Empire Magazine where director Gil Kenan said Frozen Empire takes influence from The Real Ghostbusters, with its “wild, original and weird-as-fuck villains.”
Those weird villains include the return of Slimer, the monster on the covers of the magazine, the Sewer Dragon (see below), and a mysterious horned beastie hiding in the mist as the “Death Chill” spreads across New York City.
People are going to be surprised
“We wanted to bring that show’s looseness and fearlessness to this movie,” Kenan offered. “I think it’s going to surprise people just how big this film is.”
Co-writer and producer Jason Reitman who directed Afterlife also said John Hughes was an inspiration and Wes Anderson.
“John Hughes was a big touchstone,” said Reitman. “That thing of a family in a station wagon, living in a crumbling home, the teenagers kicking back against their parents. [Finn Wolfhard’s] Trevor’s 18 now, so he’s like, ‘I’m an adult!’”
He added, “We wanted that Royal Tenenbaums thing of a family living on top of each other… but in the Ghostbusters’ Firehouse. We see the Firehouse way more than in any previous Ghostbusters film. What’s it like to sleep there, do laundry there? What’s the attic like?”
Winston is wealthy
The issue also reveals details about the OGs.
“Winston’s a wealthy guy now, and he’s funding research into new technology and the science behind ghostbusting,” Hudson revealed. “When the world is threatened… Who you gonna call? He suits up with the rest of them.”
“Ray’s been retired!” explained Aykroyd. “He’s got fitness problems, insurance problems – Winston’s the shot-caller now and he decides Ray should step back from the ghostbusting frontline and just be an advisor. Ray does not like this. Gozer’s gone, but there’s an equally terrible threat emerging from Queens – by way of the Indus Valley – and Ray wants to be out there, driving the Cadillac.”
“Bill [Murray] had always been hesitant [about coming back to Ghostbusters], and for good reason: his bar for greatness is very high,” admitted Jason Reitman. “But he loves Gil and has history with him [on 2008’s City Of Ember], so there was no question he’d be here [for Frozen Empire].”
“Not a day went by when I didn’t ask myself, ‘How would Ivan handle this?’” said Kenan. “I wanted that same approach to character, comedy and scares he had on the first two Ghostbusters. This one feels more connected to those movies than Afterlife was.”
What is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire about?
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 stars Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts.
The film is directed by Gil Kenan, written by Jason Reitman and Kenan, based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters an Ivan Reitman film written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, produced by Reitman and Jason Blumenfeld, and executive produced by Dan Aykroyd, JoAnn Perritano, Amie Karp, Eric Reich, and Erica Mills.
The film gets released on March 22, 2024.
Watch the trailer:
