With the year quickly coming to a close, there are so many exciting films to look forward to in 2024. Among the horror variety,Ghostbusters: Frozen Empireis one of the more intriguing genre adventures in the first half of the year. TheGhostbusters: Afterlifesequel is returning the franchise to New York Cityand now, after thefirstFrozen Empiretrailerdropped last week,a new prequel comic from Dark Horsewill fill in the gaps between the films.
The four-issue miniseries titledGhostbusters: Back in Townwill be written by David Booher with art by Blue Delliquanti andtakes place a year and half after the events ofAfterlife. The official plot synopsis reads:
“The Ghostbusters are officially back in business and headed to where it all began: New York City! Callie, Gary, Trevor, and Phoebe are moving into the Firehouse and ready to take on the Spengler family business…or are they? Ghostbusting on top of changing family dynamics has a way of going awry––and that’s exactly what one paranormal force is counting on.”
When talking about his excitement forBack in Town,Frozen Empire’s writer-producerJason Reitmansaid, “Our friends at Dark Horse have picked up the Spengler family and hand-delivered them to Manhattan where they will begin their journey back into Ghostbusting!It has been a personal thrill to collaborate with this incredible group of artists and storytellers on new chapters in theproton jungle.”
What’s ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ About?
Like stated before, Frozen Empire brings theGhostbusterback to New York whilereuniting the two generations of the cinematic paranormal team. Egon Spengler’s family setup inAfterlifeand theoriginal team of Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, and Peter Venkman. After an ancient artifact throws NYC into asecond ice age, with the help of their new high-tech research lab, the only ones left to call to save the day are the Ghostbusters.
‘Afterlife’ Brought New Life to the Franchise
WhileGhostbusterswas a dormant franchise for decades before the2016 reboot, Afterlife was the film that reminded fans of what made the franchise so ghoulishly special in the first place.It took the horror comedy approach of the first two films and adapted it into a rousing coming-of-age story. The focus on theSpengler family legacy was a great way to honor the late greatHarold Ramiswhile literally keeping the actor’s loving spirit involved in the franchise. It was also just wonderful to seeBill Murray,Dan Aykroyd, andErnie Hudsonback in their iconic jumpsuits together. That being said, what makesFrozen Empireenticing is it brings the Ghostbusters back to their roots in the city that never sleeps. Thatonly means we’re probably going to get a lot more action in Echo-1 with the largest group of Ghostbusters the franchise has ever seen. The returningcast also includesMcKenna Grace,Finn Wolfhard, Logan Kim, Celeste O’ Connor,Carrie Coon, andPaul Rudd, while new additions to the spooky universe includePatton Oswalt and Kumail Nanjiani.
When Does ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Release?
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empirehits theaters onMarch 29, 2024. That’s just two days afterBack in Townreleases its first issue on March 27. Until then, you can view the first issue’s current cover byKyle Lambertfeaturing Grace, Coon, Rudd, Wolfhard, and Hudson in front of theGhostbusters' firehousedown below. There’s also an alternate cover of Wolfhard covering up the Echo-1 at a gas station on the Spengler family’s way back to New York.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
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.
Watch ‘Ghostbusters Afterlife’ on STARZ
