Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Premieres in NYC

This week in New York City, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire held its world premiere at the Lincoln Square AMC. After a fun event at the Hook and Ladder No. 8 firehouse (which had the iconic No-Ghost sign moved into its traditional place and was “frozen” over by production designers to appear as it does in the film), and a rockin’ Yes Have Some Podcast party on Wednesday evening, the red carpet was unrolled and celebrities and fans alike got their first glimpse at the new film.

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Much of the main cast has been running the talk show circuit, with Paul Rudd appearing on Seth Meyers, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson being joined by Ray Parker Jr. on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and Patton Oswalt sitting in the chair on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Also at the event, Mercedes-Benz unveiled their Sprinter Van “Ecto-Z” that appears in the film, and fans got their first look at the amazing Proton Pack rack that is built into the car, offering a little backup to the Ecto-1 when the car is a little too full for that gurney o’ packs.

All-in-all, a fun and fan-filled event. Make sure to catch the film on March 22nd in a theater near you, and stay tuned to the HQ and the Crossrip podcast for more coverage!

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Teaser Trailer is Here!

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After a week of teasing, which was discussed on the most recent episode of the Crossrip podcast, Sony Pictures has released our first look at the follow-up to Ghostbusters: Afterlife - and revealed the title!

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will be coming March 29th of next year, and the teaser trailer gives us a great idea of what’s in store.

The teaser gives glimpses of returning cast and new cast, a preview of the epic conflict the Ghostbusters will have to face, and funny enough harkens back to Gil Kenan’s roots as a Reseda kid by featuring Bananarama’s Cruel Summer, famously known for its appearance in Karate Kid.

The teaser promises a huge scale adventure returning the Ghostbusters to New York City to once again save the day, and have a little fun in the process.

And wow, can the spruced up Ecto-1 cruise!

A full breakdown of the trailer will be available here on the HQ shortly, and you know we’ll be discussing it on the next episode of the podcast. But in the meantime, watch (many times) and enjoy and here’s the official synopsis and info straight from Sony Pictures!

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
Adventure/Mystery/Comedy
Release Date: March 29, 2024

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.

Directed by: Gil Kenan

Written by: Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan

Based on the 1984 film “Ghostbusters”

An Ivan Reitman film written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis

Produced by: Jason Reitman, Jason Blumenfeld

Executive Producers: Dan Aykroyd, JoAnn Perritano, Amie Karp, Eric Reich, Erica Mills

Cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt

Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts

The Mini-Puft Invasion Has Begun

We all woke up to a changed world yesterday.

Early on Wednesday morning, Jason Reitman and the official Ghostbusters social media channels surprised us all with a film clip from the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The clip, featuring Paul Rudd’s character “Mr. Grooberson” wandering the dessert aisles at Wal-Mart when he hears a scream and goes to investigate. But what he finds ends up being a lot cuter and/or malicious than he may have been expecting.

The short and fun clip is a great example of what’s in store, as nostalgia bones are tickled while the lines between comedy and horror are straddled much like the original Ghostbusters film did. And it’s safe to say that the chaos in that Wal-Mart store is probably just beginning. The clip is also abridged for marketing purposes with several cuts that make it apparent it falls into a larger sequence to be revealed when we’re seeing the film for the first time on the big screen this November.

And the clip is well-timed to start the engine revving of the merchandise powerhouse to come with the film’s release. This morning, Hasbro unveiled what is probably just the tip of the iceberg on their upcoming Afterlife (and Mini-Puft) related merchandise: a blind bag set of Mini-Pufts in various poses.

The bags will be available this Fall, just in time for the holiday season. Here is all the information fit to print from Hasbro:

GHOSTBUSTERS MINI-PUFT SURPRISE 

(Ages 4 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $5.39 / Available: Fall 2021)

Choose the smallest, most collectible method of your destruction with the GHOSTBUSTERS Mini-Pufts Surprise figures from Hasbro. Detailed to look like characters from the 2021 Ghostbusters: Afterlife film, each series of 1.5-inch Mini-Puft figures is inspired by the original Stay Puft Marshmallow Man but comes equipped with new mischievous personalities from the movie. Kids and collectors alike can open the Stay Puft Marshmallow can and dig into the goopy marshmallow-like compound to see which Mini-Puft figure is inside. 

With multiple blind waves and six unique figures per wave for the GHOSTBUSTERS Mini-Pufts Surprise figures, boys and girls can collect them all! Available at most major retailers nationwide.GHOSTBUSTERS MINI-PUFT SURPRISE

(Ages 4 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $5.39 / Available: Fall 2021)

Choose the smallest, most collectible method of your destruction with the GHOSTBUSTERS Mini-Pufts Surprise figures from Hasbro. Detailed to look like characters from the 2021 Ghostbusters: Afterlife film, each series of 1.5-inch Mini-Puft figures is inspired by the original Stay Puft Marshmallow Man but comes equipped with new mischievous personalities from the movie. Kids and collectors alike can open the Stay Puft Marshmallow can and dig into the goopy marshmallow-like compound to see which Mini-Puft figure is inside.

With multiple blind waves and six unique figures per wave for the GHOSTBUSTERS Mini-Pufts Surprise figures, boys and girls can collect them all! Available at most major retailers nationwide.

Enter Paul Rudd to Ghostbusters (2020)

This morning, in a surprise announcement accompanied by a pretty hilarious video on social media, the latest casting for Jason Reitman’s upcoming Ghostbusters film was revealed via Variety: Paul Rudd will be joining the new cast for production which begins in a couple weeks. It is not clear what his role will be at this time. (EDIT: According to Variety he’ll be playing a teacher.) He joins Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and McKenna Grace as the confirmed members of the cast. According to Jason Reitman at Ghostbusters Fan Fest, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver have all read the script. And, just recently on her press tour for Toy Story 4, Annie Potts excitedly didn’t deny that she had heard a thing or two about the new film.

Long-time fans may be having flashbacks as, in 2009 when a third Ghostbusters film was rumored to involve Judd Apatow Rudd’s name was among those that were speculated to be in his recast crew. So persistent were the casting rumors back then that Rudd had to deny his involvement. But now, there’s no denying his involvement this time around.

This will most likely be the first among many announcements and news items as production ramps up in Calgary.