Trivia / Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

• Approval of God: Gil Kenan has confirmed that the late Ivan Reitman was made aware of the plans for Frozen Empire before his death in February 2022 (which was 3 months before the sequel was officially announced by Sony). Kenan and Jason Reitman walked the franchise's original director through their complete pitch, and he gave his approval.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon have both acknowledged how both surreal and awesome it was to not only suit up in the Ghostbusters costumes and equipment, but to actually share scenes and act opposite comedic legends.
• Billing Displacement:
  • Mckenna Grace is once more billed fourth despite playing the main protagonist.
  • Patton Oswalt is billed relatively high, given that he's in a single scene.
  • Bill Murray is again billed higher than Dan Aykroyd, despite the latter having far more screen time and relevance to the plot.
• B-Team Sequel: While Jason Reitman is still one of the film's writers (and producers), Gil Kenan, who helped write Afterlife, takes over as the director.
• Celebrity Voice Actor: In the Japanese dub, Melody is voiced by figure skater Marin Honda, while comedians Shohei Osada and Jun Matsuo, both members from the comedy duo Chocolate Planet, will also does unspecified roles. Likewise, movie actress Moka Kamishiraishi returns as Phoebe here.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Despite the heavy influence of the animated series on Frozen Empire, The Real Ghostbusters's story editor J. Michael Straczynski has revealed he was never consulted by the filmmakers. If anything, Stracyznski didn't find out about the RGB influences until Empire Magazine broke the news in the Fall of 2023.
  • Maurice LaMarche (the animated Egon Spengler's voice actor) has likewise expressed disappointment that none of the surviving RGB Cast were contacted or consulted. LaMarche stated he and his cast mates would gladly have done a cameo (as it would've been fun both for them and the RGB fans).
• Dawson Casting: Emily Alyn Lind, who was around 21 when the movie was filmed, plays the eternally 16-year-old ghost girl Melody.
• Deleted Scenes: Gil Kenan's confirmed there are scenes that were left on the cutting floor, but they're primarily from the third act. As of this writing, Kenan hasn't revealed any specific details save that they were cut because they hampered the pacing and lead-up to Garraka's siege of the Firehouse. Kenan hopes to have the deleted scenes available for the eventual home video release.
• Duelling Works: With Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - another sci-fi action adventure film with "Empire" in the title and which deals with the titular characters going up against an ice-themed villain - which released a week after this one.
• In Memoriam: The film is dedicated to Ivan Reitman, who directed and produced the first two films, co-produced Ghostbusters (2016) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and was involved in production for this film before his death in February 2022.
• Inspiration for the Work: Kumail Nanjiani noted that The Real Ghostbusters was a point of reference for the film; the filmmakers pitched it as a longer episode of that series.
  • This influence also extends to the design of the proton packs. Photos from Empire Magazine show the ghost traps are now moored on the side of the packs rather than hanging from the utility belts (much like they were in the cartoon).
  • The same photos also show Janine has suited up as a Ghostbuster, which likewise happened in the series and its toyline.
  • Slimer is also now haunting the Firehouse, much as his animated counterpart was in RGB and Extreme Ghostbusters.
• Milestone Celebration: The film was released in 2024, forty years after the original film (and 35 years after the first sequel). As a bonus, it will come in time for the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures and the 10th anniversary of Harold Ramis's passing.
• Out of Holiday Episode: The plot takes place in the summer, but the movie was scheduled to be released in December 2023 before being bumped to March 2024.
• Production Posse: Aside from helping Jason Reitman with writing Afterlife, director Gil Kenan and composer Dario Marianelli previously worked together on A Boy Called Christmas.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: The absence of Sigourney Weaver following her Afterlife cameo and the continued absence of Rick Moranis since Ghostbusters II. According to Gil Kenan, Weaver's absence was due to the production team feeling there was just no story for Dana Barrett in Frozen Empire (on top of the film already being crowded enough with the old and new cast). According to Kenan, they likewise had no plans for Louis Tully from the beginning (and even if they had, there's Moranis's continuing declination to come out of retirement and return to the franchise for Afterlife or the 2016 reboot).
• Reality Subtext: Ray's frustration with getting forcibly benched from his own business by Winston and no longer active in the field. It's not hard to see this being just as much about Ray as it is as about Dan Aykroyd and how creative control of the franchise he conceived over 40 years ago has now passed to a new generation.
• Release Date Change: It was pushed from December 20, 2023 to March 29, 2024 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike making the cast unavailable to promote the film. It was then shifted forward a week to March 22.
• Role Reprise:
  • William Atherton reprises his role of Walter Peck from the first film (and also for the first time since voicing Peck for Ghostbusters: The Video Game in 2009).
  • John Rothman reprises his role as the library administrator, who called the Ghostbusters to investigate back in the first film.

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