Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire's Villains Took Inspiration From The Beloved Animated Series

"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" is bringing back our favorite paranormal exterminators for another round of busting spooks, specters, and ghosts. The events of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" in the small town of Summerville, Oklahoma saw a resurgence of original "Ghostbusters" villain Gozer the Gozerian thwarted by the estranged family of Egon Spengler (Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Carrie Coon), a curious teacher and seismologist named Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), and the original Ghostbusters team (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and a digital recreation of Harold Ramis). They saved the day, but what now?

Well, it appears Winston Zeddemore (Hudson) has been using his corporate wealth to fund a new research facility for the Ghostbusters. The Spengler family has returned to New York City, joined by Grooberson and teenage friend Lucky (Celeste O'Connor), but what should be a fun summer turns into an icy nightmare when a paranormal threat called Garraka brings a "Death Chill" to the city and threatens humanity all over again. Though we've never seen this villain anywhere in the "Ghostbusters" universe before, "Frozen Empire" director Gil Kenan revealed to Empire Magazine that the ghosts swarming around NYC this time were inspired by "The Real Ghostbusters" animated series. 

There were a couple ghosts who popped up in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" that seemed to take a cue from some ghoulies in "The Real Ghostbusters," but Gil Kenan sounds even more excited about the prospect of infusing "Frozen Empire" with some of the stranger villains taking cues from the beloved cartoon that ran from 1986 to 1991. Kenan mentioned the "wild, original and weird-as-f*** villains" that populated the series, which ran for 140 episodes across seven seasons. Though he didn't name any specific villains that might pop up in "Frozen Empire," Kenan said, "We wanted to bring that show's looseness and fearlessness to this movie. I think it's going to surprise people just how big this film is."

Aside from the primary villain Garraka, whose lanky body and horns can be glimpsed in the sequel's trailer (and the Funko POP reveal of something called Pukey), there's one other entity that we've already gotten a proper look at in the marketing materials. Just check out this poster:

Sony Pictures

See that terrifying snake-like creature swirling above the horns of Garraka? That's a Sewer Dragon, and you can see its long body, complete with a visible skeleton inside it, swirling around Empire's two collectible covers featuring the cast of "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." But the ghosts won't be the only hurdles that the Ghostbusters will be facing, especially when it comes to our younger cast members. 

Producer Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan, talked about how the family dynamic will come into play in the sequel, referencing John Hughes and "The Royal Tenenbaums" as touchstones. Reitman mentioned to Empire, "That thing of a family in a station wagon, living in a crumbling home, the teenagers kicking back against their parents. [Finn Wolfhard's character] Trevor's 18 now, so he's like, 'I'm an adult!'" The producer continued:

"We wanted that 'Royal Tenenbaums' thing of a family living on top of each other ... but in the Ghostbusters' Firehouse. We see the Firehouse way more than in any previous 'Ghostbusters' film. What's it like to sleep there, do laundry there? What's the attic like?"

Mixing the family dysfunction of the Spengler clan with the sci-fi horror elements of the original "Ghostbusters" and a splash of oddity from "The Real Ghostbusters" sounds like the perfect formula for the kind of family friendly tentpole that we don't get very often outside of superhero fare. "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" gave us an Amblin-esque take on "Ghostbusters," but it seems like "Frozen Empire" is going to up the ante in an exciting way.