10 Much-Needed Updates Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Makes To The Franchise After 39 Years

The first trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is finally here, proving that the sequel has already made 10 much-needed updates to the Ghostbusters franchise after 39 years. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the fourth entry in the canon Ghostbusters series, with it continuing the story of the original two Ghostbusters movies as well as the 2021 revival film Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The Ghostbusters saga has spanned nearly four decades, and because of this, some elements have been in serious need of an update. Luckily, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is shaking up the formula, continuing to revive the Ghostbusters franchise for a new generation and modern audiences.

The first trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire gave away a surprising amount of information, showing off who has joined the team since Ghostbusters: Afterlife, where the gang has relocated to, and what supernatural threat the titular team will have to take on this time. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire seems to be setting up a fantastic mix of the franchise’s past and present, showing off even more interactions between the new actors and the classic Ghostbusters crew. While the film is still paying homage to its comedy origins, it is also updating the Ghostbusters world to better fit the direction the franchise’s future is headed in 10 major ways.

10 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Unites The New And Old Ghostbusters Teams

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire‘s biggest change is that it finally unites the new and old Ghostbusters teams, with both sets of characters seeming integral to the story. While the original Ghostbusters cast does appear in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, it isn’t really until the end, with Bill Murray, Dan Akyroyd, and Ernie Hudson’s roles in the film’s climax seeming more like a glorified cameo. However, the old and new characters are seen prominently working together throughout the first Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer, meaning that the film could be a proper sequel to the original movies as well as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, proving the cast has something for every fan.

9 New Villains Are Finally Being Introduced To The Ghostbusters World

It has been a long time since the Ghostbusters franchise introduced a new villain, but Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire seems to be doing just that. Ghostbusters 2016 set up the return of Zuul, one of the villains from the original film, while Ghostbusters: Afterlife brought back Gozer and Ivo Shandor. The new ice-themed ghost villains in Ghostbusters: Afterlife haven’t been fully explained yet, but they seem to be like nothing that the Ghostbusters world has seen before, meaning that they could be an original antagonist.

8 This Ghostbusters Sequel Finally Has A New Concept

Ghostbusters: Afterlife manages to update the franchise in a big way, as it finally gives the series a new concept. Both Ghostbusters 2016 and Ghostbusters: Afterlife are about groups of characters who discover the truth about ghosts, decide to put together a team, and try out wacky new technology in an attempt to save their towns. The Ghostbusters origin story has been done way too many times, so it’s nice to see that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire seems to be solely about taking on a new type of ghost rather than putting the team together again.

7 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Continues To Make The Ghostbusters Cast More Diverse

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has the most diverse Ghostbusters cast by far, and that’s definitely a good thing. The characters vary in age, race, and gender more than ever before, with the cast of Ghostbusters spanning multiple generations. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire seems to bring together several different Ghostbusters teams, meaning that the large cast of ghost hunters can tell the story of the new supernatural threat from all kinds of different perspectives.

6 The Tech In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Is Even More Advanced

One of the coolest things about Ghostbusters: Afterlife was all the new tech, as the ghost-hunting technology was far from the main focus of the original film. The Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer has already shown off some cool new tech, with the more advanced weapons sure to add a new spin to the sequel. The ice-based attacks will definitely require some new strategies, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Ghostbusters team adapts to this new climate and threat.

5 New Ghost Powers Will Appear In The Sequel

Although the ghosts are one of the biggest parts of the Ghostbusters franchise, many of the evil spirits throughout the films feel kind of the same. They mostly have the same powers and incredibly similar appearances, with their abilities being very reminiscent of generic ghost stories. However, the ice-based attacks from Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire‘s new villain shows that the writers have truly expanded the lore of what the ghosts can do in the sequel. After all, much of the trailer is dedicated to explaining how the ghosts can literally scare people to death now, which is a horrifying power.

4 New Parts Of New York Are Finally Being Explored

Although the original Ghostbusters takes place in New York City, it mostly sticks to a few locations. New York City is a massive location that features all sorts of different areas that could be fantastic backdrops for ghost-hunting action sequences, although the previous Ghostbusters sequels haven’t utilized the city to its full potential. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire‘s first trailer opened by showing a ghost attack at Coney Island, a location that hasn’t been seen before. Hopefully this is a sign that the film will continue to explore new corners of New York City, expanding the world of Ghostbusters even further.

3 Ghosts Are Finally Being Treated As Normal In The Ghostbusters Universe

For some reason, Ghostbusters: Afterlife made its characters think that the idea of ghosts existing was ridiculous, which makes no sense. Ghosts literally destroyed large chunks of New York City in the 1980s, so it would be hard to deny their existence within the world of Ghostbusters. However, the introduction of what seems to be a ghost historian in the form of Patton Oswalt’s character implies that the existence of ghosts is now common knowledge, fixing this odd plot hole.

2 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Shows That The Team Has Added Lots Of New Members

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire shows off several new characters in the first trailer, proving that the film has already added lots of new members to the Ghostbusters team. Several new characters can be seen in Ghostbusters uniforms throughout the trailer, and while some other new characters aren’t seen hunting ghosts, it wouldn’t be surprising if they helped out by the end of the film.

1 Ghosbusters: Frozen Empire’s Ghosts Are Finally Scary

One of the best updates that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has made is that its ghosts are finally scary. For a franchise about ghosts, Ghostbusters doesn’t really try to scare its audience, with only a few scenes from the original being creepy. However, the ice-based villains in the trailer are shown to be a massive threat, with it being impossible that their icicle attacks didn’t kill anybody. The idea of being so scared that you slowly freeze to death is absolutely horrifying, and hopefully Ghostbusters: Frozen Afterlife leans into this horror aspect when the movie finally releases.