Few upcoming 2024 movies have me excited to hit the theater more than Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the star-studded follow-up to Ghostbusters: Afterlife that will welcome back even more familiar faces than the prior sequel did. And the latest full-length preview builds upon all the awesomeness of the first trailer, while also teasing a few more surprises that are on the way. And that includes a returning “character” that I absolutely didn’t expect to see again: the librarian ghost.
The trailer, which can be viewed above, features roughly 400 characters of both the human and ectoplasmic variety — a rough numerical estimation — and I can’t wait to see most of them again. (Here’s glaring at you, Walter Peck, although I’m obviously pumped as all get out to see William Atherton’s scruffy face back in the Ghostbusters universe.)
But while we knew Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon and the other Afterlife stars would be back alongside the O.G. vets like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson, I somehow didn’t anticipate more returning faves from the spiritual realm. How naive of me. Now please join me in whispering a hearty welcome back to the Ghost of Eleanor Twitty, otherwise known as The Gray Lady, otherwise known as the Librarian Ghost.
One might be inclined to think this is just a shot pulled from the first movie, but the actual look of the effects makes it clear this is new footage. Not to mention the shot of older Ray Stantz freaking out down one of the book aisles.
You know who also looks like they could have been pulled out of the first movie and into this sequel without any time passing? Annie Potts’ Janine.
Okay, I guess it’s obvious the Ghostbusters’ dutiful assistant aged as much as anyone, but the blue glasses and short hair are a timeless combo. Plus she’s seen in full uniform in the trailer, which is an awesome upgrade.
The trailer also brings back everyone’s favorite clan of Stay Puff mini-mallows, who are as adorable as ever, and the franchise’s sloppiest ghoul also makes a slishy-sloshy return as well, much to the disgust of Wolfhard’s Trevor Spengler.
In the new movie, which was inspired heavily by the animated series, the Spengler family will be uprooting from Oklahoma and making the journey to New York City, where they’ll get acquainted with the iconic firehouse while helping the original Ghostbusters with their top-secret research lab. But their latest efforts may not be enough to combat the latest evil force threatening the world at large, which aims to bring the planet into a second Ice Age.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will hit theaters on Friday, March 22, so have your proton-pack-shaped popcorn buckets (not very handy) ready to go. Check out all the upcoming horror movies to sate your fear hunger until then.