Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Avoiding 1 Character’s Return Is A Great Sign For The Franchise

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will continue the story of the newest generation of ghost hunters without the return of one of the franchise’s most noteworthy characters, which bodes well for the franchise’s long-term future. The latest Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer revealed the “Death Chill”, the franchise’s icy new villain who will bring together the original Ghostbusters and their budding proteges from Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Many characters from the franchise are set to return, but there is one key omission who appeared in the original Ghostbusters and the 2021 sequel.

Director Gil Kenan revealed that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will not bring back the iconic villain Gozer, who made his epic return as the primary antagonist of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The 2024 sequel will instead focus on an entirely new villain, the Death Chill, which has the power to kill through fear alone, and freeze everything in its path. Shifting the focus from Gozer to a completely different villain is a great development for the overall health of the franchise, as it will allow for new ground to be explored.

Leaving Gozer Out Of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Is The Right Choice For The Franchise

The franchise is not beholden to any of the rules and history established for Gozer.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife effectively rebooted the franchise, and Gozer’s return in that movie made a ton of narrative sense. Gozer helped draw a line between the original Ghostbusters and the new generation, and provided a justification for both groups to fight together against a powerful enemy. However, returning to that same villain would be a mistake for the franchise, as it would handcuff the narrative to the rules that have already been established for Gozer and his minions. Fighting the same enemy, even in a new way, is almost sure to come across as stale and tired.

Moving on from Gozer actually moves the franchise forward as opposed to relying on nostalgia, which is a trap that many rebooted franchises fall into. The Ghostbusters franchise is especially susceptible to that problem given how heavily involved the original cast is with the current narrative. The original Ghostbusters will return once again in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, but giving them an entirely new villain to deal with keeps the story from hitting too many of the same notes as the previous movies.

Why Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Death Chill Villain Is More Exciting Than Gozer

A brand-new villain opens a new world of story-telling and stakes.

The new, original villain in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is far more exciting than Gozer given what was revealed in the trailer. The Death Chill is apparently able to kill based on fear alone, which will elevate the actual horror elements that are prevalent in the Ghostbusters franchise despite it technically being a comedy series. The trailer showed the Death Chill’s ability to freeze essentially everything, which should create some exciting set pieces and visuals that will be entirely new to the Ghostbusters franchise.

Most importantly, the new villain will elevate the stakes at play. The Death Chill apparently aims to cover the world in a new Ice Age, and judging by the trailer the heroes will get a taste of what that might look like. While Gozer certainly had global domination in mind in both Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, seeing the Death Chill actually freeze large areas will make the danger feel more real, and up the stakes significantly. Ultimately, moving on from Gozer and focusing on the Death Chill in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will take the franchise forward, and lay the groundwork for an entirely new mythology that can be explored not only in that sequel, but in any future sequels as well.