Diksha Sundriyal
With ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,’ the team of ghost-hunting scientists returns to the Big Apple as a new crop of Ghostbusters takes charge. The follow-up to 2021’s ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ introduces a new enemy while also adding to the lore by bringing some exciting characters into the fore. The film continues to form a strong connection with the original ‘Ghostbusters’ film by bringing back its stars like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts, who reprised their roles from the first two films and also appeared in ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife.’ Another exciting character to return is William Atherton’s Walter Peck who is yet again trying to shut down Ghostbusters because of the menace they are to public property. Yet, with all these characters returning, two actors didn’t return for ‘Frozen Empire.’ SPOILERS AHEAD
Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis’ Absence is Justified
It is always nice to see original characters of a franchise cameo as the torch is handed over to a new generation. However, in doing so, the filmmakers have to make sure that the returning characters serve a purpose in the story or are there to forward the narrative rather than to please the audience. This is what Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman had in mind while working on ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.’ While they were able to get in most of the main characters from the original movie, they couldn’t find an organic way to bring back Weaver’s Dana and Moranis’ Louis Tully in the story.
Weaver was last seen in the Ghostbusters universe in 2021’s ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife,’ in which she cameoed in the film’s post-credits scene. The scene established that Weaver was just as willing to return to the franchise as the rest of the actors. This gave the fans hope for her return in the upcoming films. However, Kenan and Reitman couldn’t find anything worthwhile for Dana’s character in the new film and found it best to bench her this time.
Similarly, they didn’t consider Tully’s character while writing the new film. This could have been due to the fact that Moranis didn’t return for ‘Ghostbuster: Afterlife’ either. The actor stepped away from acting in 1997 and has yet to appear in any feature film. He was reported to have agreed to return to the big screen when the talks for a new movie in the ‘Shrunk’ franchise were underway. However, it has been a few years since there was any update on the project, and with it hitting the pause, Moranis’ return has also been left in the lurch.
While Dana and Tully might not have returned in ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,’ it doesn’t mean there is no hope for them anymore. Gil Kenan revealed that they have “more stories to tell in the future,” and they are very keen to bring back the characters from the original film, but they want it only if the story can make “full use of the characters.” He assured the fans that “nothing is off the table,” which means there is still hope for Dana and/or Tully to be a part of the future films.
There are greater chances of Weaver’s return as Dana, considering she has already reprised her character. With the setting of ‘Frozen Empire’ moving ‘Ghostbusters’ back to New York, the possibilities for Dana’s character to factor into the story increase considerably. The same could be said for Tully, but his return is also heavily reliant on Moranis’ willingness to return to the screen. Perhaps the next ‘Ghostbusters’ might do what the ‘Shrunk’ sequel couldn’t, and we might yet see the original cast reunite.
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