Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan on taking over an iconic franchise

Martin Macdonald - 31 December 2023, 10:03 Share

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan had to pinch himself on a few occasions during the productions as it has always been a dream of his to helm a Ghostbusters movie.

The movie acts as a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which received generally positive reviews from critics and was a moderate financial success, earning $204 million worldwide on a budget of $75m.

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The movie introduced a new generation of young Ghostbusters who eventually join forces with the original crew from the 1980s.

The official premise of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire:

'In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family decide to leave Summerville, Oklahoma and go back to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – and help 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 artefact unleashes a mysterious and evil force, known as the Death Chill, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a deadly and unpredictable fate that unknowingly, could affect Earth’s history with a second Ice Age.'

Jason Reitman previously stepped down as director but will remain on board as a producer and writer, with Kenan filling the director's chair. Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray reprise their roles as the Ghostbusters, and Kenan felt honoured to be working with some of his heroes.

"I remember there was a moment halfway through the first morning of directing one of the big scenes where I looked at the monitor, and just caught myself with the biggest grin ever," the director told Empire.

"Finally, it dawned on me that I was calling 'Action!' and 'Cut!' on some of my very favourite characters in movies, working on a big cinematic scale on something that I really cared about. I try to hold on to that feeling. I still have it now, finishing the film.

"It's an absolute honour to pick up the proton pack and step behind the camera for the next chapter of the Spengler family saga.

"I just wish I could go back to 1984 and tell the kid in the sixth row of the Mann Valley West that one day he was going to get to direct a Ghostbusters film."

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O'Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt.