Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire star Finn Wolfhard addresses producer Jason Reitman‘s exit as director following the passing of his legendary filmmaker father Ivan Reitman.
“We talked about it. He was going to direct [Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire] for a little bit, but there’s a constant level of mourning that you have to do when someone that close to you passes away,” Wolfhard said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “And to direct something where he’d be thinking about him all the time, I am sure that it would have been really emotionally heavy. So I think it was really helpful for Jason to take a step back in more of a producer role.”
Reitman previously penned and helmed the 2021 blockbuster hit Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which continued the original story that began with his father’s previous installments in 1984 and 1989. Afterlife co-writer Gil Kenan steps into the director’s chair for Frozen Empire, which Wolfhard described as an easy transition given the filmmaker’s passion for the franchise.
“I must say that it was not much of a pivot,” Wolfhard said. “There wasn’t much to get used to when it came to Gil because of how immersed he was in the DNA of the first movie.”
What is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire about?
The official synopsis for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire reads: “In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic NYC 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.”
Directed by Gil Kenan, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire stars Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Paul Rudd reprising their roles from 2021’s Afterlife. Original Ghostbusters stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton reprise their roles from the 1984 classic. Newcomers to the franchise include Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, and James Acaster.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hits cinemas on March 22.
