Two years after the Ghostbusters franchise was resurrected with the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, everyone's favorite ghost hunters and the rest of the Spengler family are set to return with an all-new fifth installment, titled Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Following the trend of legacy sequels and "requels", Sony decided to make a more direct follow-up to Ghostbusters II with Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Directed by Ivan Reitman's son, Jason Reitman, the official third film in the main Ghostbusters series has generally been the best-received sequel in the series, with fans and critics alike loving the characters both new and familiar and praising the movie as a heartwarming tribute to the late Harold Ramis. When Egon's grandchildren and the rest of the Ghostbusters defeated Gozer (Olivia Wilde) for a second time, only one question remained for those sitting in the audience - where will we see the Ghostbusters next? The answer is the temporarily titled Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which will continue the story where Ghostbusters: Afterlife left off. To find out more about the upcoming movie's returning cast, new director, release date, and more, here is everything we know so far about Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on February 4, 2024.

When Does 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Come Out?

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was initially slated to release in theaters on Wednesday, December 20th, 2023. In late July 2023, Sony Pictures revealed that the film was being pushed back to March 29, 2024 (Easter weekend), due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA Strikes.

In January 2024, it was announced that Sony was shifting the release date once more, with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire now set to arrive a week earlier, on March 22, 2024. On its current date, the film will be opening up against the Mark Wahlberg-led sports drama Arthur the King and satirical romantic comedy The American Society of Magical Negroes.

Is 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Releasing in Theaters or on Streaming?

All the prior Ghostbusters feature films have been released in theaters, and that isn't expected to change with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. As far as streaming goes, the Ghostbusters franchise's parent company Sony doesn't have its own in-house streaming service, but they do regularly partner with and release its content on Netflix, as they did with its recent films like The Equalizer 3 and Gran Turismo. Sony and Netflix also announced in June 2022 that Jason Reitman would be producing a new Ghostbusters animated series for the streaming service.

What Is the Plot of 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Kingdom'?

Ghostbusters: Frozen Kingdom will be bringing the franchise back to its New York roots and will be set during the summer. The official synopsis from Sony reads:

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 evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Jason Reitman also did reveal that there is an opportunity that we'll see other characters from Ghostbusters past, such as the main villain of Ghostbusters II, Vigo the Carpathian (Wilhelm von Homburg):

"There is a lot of time and opportunity for Vigo the Carpathian to make his return. Look, are you saying that’s the only painting of Vigo the Carpathian? Maybe, he’s riding a horse in another one, maybe, impaling someone in another one.”

It makes sense that the future villains of the franchise could be familiar faces, as we saw with the return of Gozer and her minions in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Is There a Trailer for 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Kingdom'?

The first teaser trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was released by Sony Pictures on November 8. Opening with the classic Bananarama song "Cruel Summer," before transitioning into a score that harkens back to the original films, the trailer sees summertime in New York being disrupted by the "Death Chill," an icy paranormal force that sends the city into a second ice age.

On January 29, 2024, Sony Pictures released a new Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer.

Who Is Starring in 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire'?

Nearly the entire main cast from Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be returning for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Namely, these include the family of Egon Spangler, including McKenna Grace as Egon's granddaughter, Phoebe, Finn Wolfhard as Egon's grandson, Trevor, and Carrie Coon as Egon's daughter, Callie. Also confirmed to return are the kids' school teacher and Callie's potential partner Grooberson (Paul Rudd), Phoebe's best friend Podcast (Logan Kim), and Trevor's friend Lucky (Celeste O'Connor).

Also returning for the new film are Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz, Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman, Ernie Hudson as Dr. Winston Zeddemore, Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz, and William Atherton as Walter Peck.

Unfortunately, Sigourney Weaver will not be returning for this movie. Weaver played the Ghostbusters' first customer Dana Barrett who was featured in the first two movies and reprised the role in Afterlife in a cameo appearance.

The sequel will also include several new faces joining the cast, including Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille), James Acaster (Cinderella), and Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep).

Who Is Making 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire'?

James Reitman took over directing duties from his father Ivan Reitman to bring Ghostbusters: Afterlife to...well, life. This time though, Reitman will be stepping away from the directing chair to make room for Gil Kenan, the filmmaker with tons of "kids fighting monsters" experience having directed Monster House. Reitman won't be going far though, as he's still attached to co-write and co-produce along with Kenan. Also attached to the film are two members of the original Afterlife crew, including co-producer Jason Blumenfeld (Tully) and cinematographer Eric Steelberg (Juno).

What Is the Background Behind the Ghostbusters Franchise?

It's somewhat remarkable that the Ghostbusters series was almost always destined to be a smaller cult classic, yet proved to be the start of a smash-hit franchise. Things didn't start out so great for the original 1984 film, with the first entry only making about half of its budget in its opening weekend. By today's standards, a poor opening weekend is the kiss of death for movies, as that's typically the time when most blockbusters make the most of their money. Yet, Ghostbusters proved to be an underdog story outside the film itself, ultimately grossing over $200 million USD, a total that surpassed the film's budget seven times over. The reason? Audiences fell in love with director Ivan Reitman's fantastical ghostly vision of New York as well as the instantly likable characters of the wise-cracking Peter (Bill Murray), the enthusiastic Ray (Dan Aykroyd), the genius Egon (Harold Ramis), and the practical Winston (Ernie Hudson).

Lightning didn't quite strike twice five years later with the film's sequel, Ghostbusters II - a solid but not stellar sequel that failed to recapture the iconic and memorable feel of its predecessor. That being said, it still made a ton of money and officially marked Ghostbusters as a viable franchise, leading to various animated shows, video games, theme park attractions, and as many probably know, a full remake. Yes, to say that Paul Feig's was controversial would be like saying Slimer likes to eat a little too much. Many likely remember that the 2016 reboot, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, became the subject of some pretty toxic discourse on the internet, and while the film does certainly have its fans, the film ultimately underperformed at the box office, and plans for a sequel were ultimately dropped.