Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Carries Over A Disappointing Diversity Problem From The 2016 Reboot

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire pushes the franchise in a new direction, yet it shares a frustrating issue with the 2016 reboot movie. The fifth film in the franchise, which is currently in cinemas, has been met with a generally mixed response. Additionally, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of any installment in the Ghostbusters franchise. While the majority of the criticism has focused on the movie’s crowded cast and obsession with nostalgia, the film is also guilty of committing a crime previously committed by 2016’s Ghostbusters.

Frozen Empire serves as a sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and, as such, brings back the Spengler family for another adventure. The movie sees Egon Spengler’s daughter, Callie, and grandchildren, Trevor and Phoebe, teaming up with the original Ghostbusters gang. Like every Ghostbusters movie before it, Frozen Empire has its fair share of problems. One of which is an issue that also existed in the all-female reboot film, and it relates to the character of Phoebe.

Warning: spoilers for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Hints That Phoebe Might Be Gay – But Doesn’t Confirm It

The Film Leaves Things Annoyingly Ambiguous

Played by McKenna Grace, Phoebe Spengler is introduced in Afterlife as a science whizz and the younger sibling of the Spengler family. Arguably, Phoebe was Afterlife‘s standout character, so it makes sense that the character got an even bigger role in the sequel. Phoebe’s story in Frozen Empire sees her encountering and befriending the ghost of a teenage girl named Melody (played by Emily Alyn Lind). A pyromaniac, Melody was responsible for the fire that caused both her own and her family’s deaths. Despite this, Phoebe is shown to share a real connection with Melody.

In fact, though the movie never explicitly states it, it’s implied that Phoebe has a crush on Melody. The pair share an undeniable chemistry and Phoebe appears to be happiest when she is around her new ghost friend. The relationship between the two is at the center of the film’s emotional backbone. Indeed, so attached to Melody is she that Phoebe temporarily becomes a ghost to allow the pair to physically interact. When it’s revealed that Melody has been working for Frozen Empire‘s villain all along, Phoebe is left feeling hurt and betrayed.

It’s certainly possible Phoebe and Melody’s relationship is nothing more than a friendship. However, at the same time, it’s equally possible that the pair share a romantic attraction. That’s the problem with Frozen Empire; it’s not explicit about the nature of Phoebe and Melody’s relationship. As such, the movie comes across as having its cake and eating it, too. Frozen Empire appears to want to imply romantic tension between the two characters, but it doesn’t want to commit to following that story through, the very definition of queerbaiting. And it’s not the first time this has happened in a Ghostbusters movie.

2016’s Ghostbusters Had To Hide That Kate McKinnon’s Character Was Gay

It’s A Case Of History Repeating Itself

Like Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the 2016 all-female reboot of Ghostbusters had more than its fair share of issues. Kate McKinnon’s Dr. Jillian “Holtz” Holtzmann certainly wasn’t one of them. As is the case with almost every Kate McKinnon character, Holtzman was a dry and eccentric oddball who got most of the best lines in the script. Throughout the film, Holtzmann is also shown to be highly flirtatious, particularly toward Kristen Wiig’s character, Erin. Much like Phoebe in Frozen Empire, however, it’s never explicitly stated in Ghostbusters whether Holtzmann is actually gay.

Outside the movie, its director, Paul Feig, has suggested that Holtzmann is, indeed, gay. Speaking to Daily Beast in 2017, Feig, when asked if Holtzmann is gay, responded, “What do you think?” He also went on to imply that studio intervention was what prevented him from being more explicit about the matter. McKinnon herself is gay, and it makes sense that she would want her character to share this trait. Unfortunately, like Frozen Empire, 2016’s Ghostbusters – or, at least, Sony Pictures – was apparently too afraid to commit to the LGBTQ+ storyline it set up.

Phoebe Being Gay Would Connect To Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Larger Themes

It’s A Film About Figuring Out Who You Are

There’s a lot going on in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. With so many characters, there’s not enough story to go around and not everyone gets their moment to shine. Phoebe is one of the few exceptions. Phoebe’s storyline with Melody is easily one of the movie’s best parts because it brings some much-needed emotional depth to the film. Phoebe being gay would compliment her emotional arc nicely.

Phoebe’s character arc in Frozen Empire revolves around her figuring out who she is. Early on in the film, Phoebe is told that she can’t be a Ghostbuster because she’s too young, despite being smarter and more capable than anyone else on the team. With her identity as a Ghostbuster stripped away, she is forced to question who she really is and finds herself going on a journey of self-discovery which leads her to Melody. Phoebe finds comfort and companionship in Melody who, being a ghost, shares her struggles with figuring out her place in the world.

Sexuality is a big part of who a person is, and trying to understand one’s sexuality means attempting to figure out one’s identity. This is why Phoebe being gay would’ve made a lot of sense for her character’s story. Phoebe losing her title as a Ghostbuster and being forced to confront her own identity could’ve been a metaphor for Phoebe questioning her own sexuality, which she could’ve made peace with by the end of the movie.

Phoebe’s Ghostbusters 6 Story Could Finally Confirm Her Sexuality

If A Sequel Happens, It Needs To Make Things Clear

Though it would’ve been good if Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hadn’t been so ambiguous regarding Phoebe’s sexuality, there’s a good chance that the intention was always to explore this further in a sequel. Ghostbusters 6 hasn’t been confirmed yet, and given that Frozen Empire has been underperforming at the box office, the chances of it happening any time soon seem slim. However, if a follow-up to Frozen Empire did get the go-ahead, it would be the perfect opportunity to confirm Phoebe’s sexuality and potentially explore what impact it has on her as a character.

While the issue of failing to be explicit about a character’s sexuality has, unfortunately, cropped up twice in the Ghostbusters franchise, it’s not a problem that’s specific to the series. Frozen Empire‘s tentative handling of its potentially LGBTQ+ character is symptomatic of a wider Hollywood problem. As the characters of Phoebe and Holtzmann suggest, studios are keen to appeal to LGBTQ+ audiences and their allies but don’t want to alienate their more conservative audiences. In the end, films like Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire end up not pleasing anyone.