After reprising her role as Dana Barrett in a cameo appearance in 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver did not return in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. She was notably absent along with Rick Moranis’ Louis Tully. The latter hasn’t been seen on the big screen since 1997’s Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan finally addressed Weaver and Moranis’ absence from the latest sequel to the iconic horror comedy franchise. He explained that the creative team simply didn’t think that Dana Barrett and Louis Tully would fit in the Frozen Empire storyline.
“That would be a Jason Reitman question. That was more of an Afterlife story. We never wrote a role for Louis Tully in Frozen Empire,” Kenan said. “We’ve got enough characters in this story. I love Tully by the way. I’m a huge Rick Moranis fan. Louis Tully was an indelible element of Ghostbusters. Dana Barrett is also one of my favorite characters in these films, but there was no story for Dana Barrett in Frozen Empire. But if we’re lucky enough to make more of these films, I would love for Dana to have more to do in these stories.”
What is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire about?
“In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse — to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level,” reads the official synopsis. “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.”
The latest installment to the horror comedy franchise is directed by Gil Kenan (Monster House, City of Ember) from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jason Reitman. The sequel stars Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Celeste O’Connor, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Patton Oswalt, Kumail Nanjiani, and more.
