Ghostbusters franchise could expand with globe-trotting adventures

The Ghostbusters: Afterlife (watch it HERE) sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (which, of course, also serves as a sequel to the original Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II) is now in theatres – and in the review of the film that was written by JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray (you can read it at THIS LINK), Bumbray said that it feels like it was “aimed at building the franchise out more extensively.” While talking to The Hollywood Reporter, franchise co-creator Dan Aykroyd hinted that we could see the franchise expand with globe-trotting adventures.

Aykroyd said, “We like New York, but that’s not to say that we couldn’t make New York the base and travel off somewhere else. But… hey, there are ghosts around the world.“

While the first two films and Frozen Empire are set in New York, Afterlife took place in Oklahoma. It sounds like Aykroyd wouldn’t mind seeing the Ghostbusters travel even further away from home base than Oklahoma.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace are back for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, reprising the roles of Trevor and Phoebe. They’re joined in the cast by Carrie Coon, playing Trevor and Phoebe’s mom Callie; Paul Rudd, back as his Afterlife character Gary Grooberson; William Atherton as Walter Peck, the antagonistic EPA inspector from the first Ghostbusters film; Celeste O’Connor as Trevor’s friend Lucky Domingo; Logan Kim as Phoebe’s friend Podcast; Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz; and new additions Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens), James Acaster (Hypothetical), and Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep). And yes, original Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson are in the film as well, and it looks like they have more prominent roles than they had in the previous movie – in fact, the director has said they’re “actual characters” in this one. You can watch our interviews with some of the cast members HERE.

At first, Afterlife director Jason Reitman was expected to take the helm of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, once again directing from a screenplay he was writing with Gil Kenan – but then it was revealed that Kenan would actually be directing the new film. He previously directed the animated movie Monster House, the live-action films City of Ember, A Boy Called Christmas, and the remake of Poltergeist, and an episode of the Scream TV series. Kenan has said that he drew inspiration from the Real Ghostbusters animated series and its willingness to be weird and wild when they were coming up with the ghostly threats in this film. Reitman decided to step back from directing the film because he was mourning the death of his father, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II director Ivan Reitman, who passed away in February of 2022.

Will you be watching Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire this weekend? And if the franchise does feature some globe-trotting adventures in the future, where in the world would you like to see the Ghostbusters go? Let us know by leaving a comment below.