Warning: SPOILERS for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Summary

Screen Rant

• Screen Rant interviewed Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire star Mckenna Grace tied to the film's digital release.
• Grace discussed her favorite relationships in the film and what she'd like to see going foward.
• The actor also detailed the making of one of the film's setpiece action sequences.

Even more so than the movie that relaunched the franchise, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a juggling act. The movie brought the new generation of the Spengler family to New York City to tell a story that reunited the original Ghostbusters and brought exciting new players into the fold. Director Gil Kenan and producer and co-writer Jason Reitman (who directed Ghostbusters: Afterlife and whose father directed the first Ghostbusters) managed to deliver a film that felt true to the rest of the franchise even as it expanded on what was deemed possible by including a human/ghost friendship and mystical fire-based powers.

There’s a lot going on in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and it’s Mckenna Grace’s Phoebe Spengler who ties it all together. Phoebe bridges casts, discovers the answers to centuries-old mysteries, and—spoiler—even becomes a ghost during the course of the movie. With Kenan publicly stating his intention to keep Phoebe front and center for any potential new franchise entries, the character’s future seems brighter than a proton stream. Her journey in the Ghostbusters world has also helped bring other aspects of Grace’s talent to light. Her first single as a recording artist, “Haunted House”, debuted alongside Ghostbusters Afterlife, and her latest, “Gentleman”, dropped just as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was released on digital platforms.

Screen Rant interviewed Mckenna Grace about returning to the role of Phoebe Spengler for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Grace happily reflected on her relationship with co-star Dan Aykroyd, discussed wanting to see more scenes between Phoebe and Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor, and even touched on a potential return to her The Handmaid’s Tale character for the show’s final season.

Mckenna Grace Details Her On-And Offscreen Relationships In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Screen Rant: You get to explore so many different relationships in this movie, because Phoebe is spending time with the OG Ghostbusters, Melody, and her own family. What was your favorite relationship to play?

Mckenna Grace: This is kind of random, and a lot of it wasn't in the film as it turned out, but I had a really good time [shooting with James Acaster]. Lars and Phoebe had a little bit going back and forth whenever we were shooting, but a lot of it didn't make it into the film. We’d undermine Gary (Paul Rudd) a lot because he'd just say something and we'd just both look at him like, "Who is this idiot?" Then, we'd look at each other and be like, "You know what? You're smart. I see you. You're another smart person with glasses."

I liked Phoebe and Gary this film—I thought that that was nice—but I really liked Phoebe and Ray, and him and Podcast. I thought that was really sweet. I felt like he was just looking out for the kids. I loved it. It was so sweet. I loved them.

Was that mirrored off-screen at all? Did Dan Aykroyd give you any advice?

Mckenna Grace: I feel like a lot of the cast's favorite memories are from the days that Dan was on set. There are so many people in this movie, so all of us would be all together. We had [a cast tent with] four couches across from each other and a table full of snacks. All of us would just sit in there all day long, for like 12 hours. It was long days. With Ghostbusters, there are so many setups, and we're shooting the same scene for a week because there are special effects and things like that. It was a lot of sitting around.

The OG Ghostbusters had their own place to hang sometimes—or they were at the director monitor—but Dan would come into our cast tent with the 12 of us or whatever, and he’d just sit at the head and tell stories. Everybody would just be sitting there silently with their respective snacks, just listening to Dan tell all of his stories.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Was Nostalgic For Everyone—Including The Cast

Even more so than in Afterlife, there’s so much nostalgia in this movie. It’s in New York and you have even more cast members coming back. How many times on set did you hear someone say, “Oh, on the first movie, we did this”?

Mckenna Grace: All the time. The firehouse--we built that on a soundstage in Reading, England. It was the most random, but it was built by scale. It looked incredible. [Seeing] the attention to detail and getting to see the OGs walk around and take that in and see it how it looked back whenever they were shooting the first one was really cool. Also, [I loved] getting to hear their stories, them being like, "Oh yeah, Bill remember when you were standing here, and Annie, I was over here." I was like, "Oh my God, this is so cool."

One Of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Most Exciting Sequences Was More Fun To Watch Than to Film

One of my favorite sequences in the movie is the car chase that happens super early on where you’re hanging out of the side of the car. What goes into making a sequence like that?

Mckenna Grace: That was the first scene that we shot in the film. After all not working together for four years, we came back and our first week [was just] being surrounded by green tarps inside of this car that was jacked up on a rig that would bounce around and stuff. We did that scene for a week straight. It was the beginning of the film and on the first day everybody was like, "Yeah, I'm so excited to be back." And then the second day we were like, "Whoo." And then the third day we were like, "Wow, it's really green in here." By the seventh day we were like, "Oh my God, I can't wait to finish this scene." But it was really fun. It was just funny doing that over and over and over again every day.

It's such a short scene in retrospect, but it's weird getting to see it visualized. You don't know what it's going to look like when you're just surrounded by green tarps in the middle of London. It's really cool to finally be able to see the finished product. They also had a second unit shooting in New York that was shooting the car chase. They shut down a few blocks of New York, which was crazy--quite a feat. They went and drove the Ecto all around New York and used that, then our shot. It was cool to finally get to see.

Mckenna Grace Is A Singer And Songwriter. Can Phoebe Spengler Sing?

You put out your first single in 2021 tied to Ghostbusters: Afterlife. You just put out a new one called “Gentleman” that’s great. Can Phoebe Spengler sing, and what are the odds those worlds would ever collide?

Mckenna Grace: I don't think so. I don't think she would sing. I'm trying to think of an instrument that would suit her. What are those things where you play it [mimes waving her hand over an instrument].

Theremin.

Mckenna: Yes! I picture that… no, I picture Podcast playing that in the basement of Ray’s Occult Bookstore, and I feel like Phoebe would just be there. Maybe she’d have a little triangle that she’d play off-beat.

Mckenna Grace Is Excited For The Future, Especially For More Scenes With Finn Wolfhard

I saw that Gil Kenan, your director, made it clear that Phoebe is the beating heart of this franchise going forward. Is there a Phoebe story you’d be really excited to tell?

Mckenna Grace: I'm excited to tell any Phoebe story. I am just always like, "I hope that they have me back." I'm just excited to be here, so I feel like I'd tell any Phoebe story. I'm excited to be able to bring her to life to the best of my abilities and hopefully make something that the fans like.

Something that Finn and I were talking were talking about was that it'd be fun to do more scenes together. I like Phoebe and Trevor, and I feel like that'd be a fun relationship to explore. Finn and I have such a good time working together and I feel like we work really well off of each other, so I feel like that'd be fun.

Mckenna Grace Is “Terrified” For The Handmaid’s Tale’s Final Season

Is there any chance we’ll see you in the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale, and if so, what does Esther’s future look like?

Mckenna Grace: That's what I'm asking myself. I'm actually terrified. I won't even lie to you. I have no idea what… I'm hoping that we'll shoot the final season sometime soon. Between all the strikes, and COVID, and everything that's been happening… and then Lizzie Moss had a baby, which is crazy [and] so exciting. I'm hoping that we'll finally get to shoot the final season, but I have no idea what they're going to make me do. I'm game--whatever they tell me, I'll do it and I'm game—but I am a little terrified. With that show, you never know. You truly never know what's going to happen. I'm excited to see what Esther's up to this season.

About Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

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 army of ghosts that casts a death chill upon the city, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Check out our other Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire interviews:

• Ernie Hudson
• Emily Alyn Lind

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is available now on digital platforms.

Source: Screen Rant Plus