Summary

• The trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire suggests the ing of the torch from the original team to the younger characters introduced in the previous movie.
• The new main characters from Ghostbusters: Afterlife are shown in Ghostbuster uniforms, indicating they may take over as the front line of Ghostbusters, while the original team plays advisor roles.
• The final scenes of the trailer show both casts working together to fight a new threat, potentially signaling the end of the original Ghostbusters era.

Based on the trailer for everything we know about the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel and gives us a glimpse at the looming new threat.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife introduced Callie Spangler (Carrie Coon) — daughter of original Ghostbuster Egon Spangler — and her two children, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (McKenna Grace). The family was in dire financial straits and moved to rural Oklahoma after inheriting Egon's farm. They then met science teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) and began to unravel secrets Egon had on the farm, including a Gozerian Temple connected to the spirits Gozer and Zuul. During the ending of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the original team, including Egon's manifested ghost, took on the threat and saved the Spangler family.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire's Trailer Confirms A New Ghostbusters Team

In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the new characters all had significant roles, at times uncovering part of Egon's past or discovering some of his old ghost-busting tools. However, when it came to facing off against Gozer, Zuul, and the other spirits in Oklahoma, the original Ghostbusters arrived to eliminate the threat. The original team is back again in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, but the trailer primarily shows Callie, Trevor, Phoebe, and Gary in uniforms and actively fighting the ghosts.

At the end of the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer, the new main characters from Ghostbusters: Afterlife have official Ghostbuster uniforms on, hinting that they have moved into the position of being the front line of Ghostbusters, perhaps taking over for the original team. Ray Stantz (Dan Akroyd), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) look to be playing advisor roles this time, although there are glimpses of them in uniform as well. The new characters, however, are shown in the original '80s uniforms as well as updated orange Ghostbusters suits that likely represent a new team leading the way.

Will Frozen Empire's New Team Replace The Original Ghostbusters Going Forward?

In the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer, both casts are shown working together to battle the frozen ghost that has taken over New York City. Instead of the sequel taking place in Oklahoma, both groups of characters seem to have either relocated or been compelled to come back to New York City, and the Ghostbusters reunite at the firehouse were it all began to battle the new threat. In the final scenes of the trailer, individual of the Ghostbusters: Afterlife group battle ghosts, and then they fight together at the end. Whether or not the original team s them in this final battle remains to be seen, but it could signal the ing of the torch.

Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson are all in their mid-70s, and Harold Ramis ed away in 2014, so it makes sense that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and the franchise make plans to move the ghost-busting responsibilities to a younger team. This remains one of the more lucrative franchises in film history, as Ghostbusters: Afterlife made more than $200 million globally, and Columbia Pictures will want to ensure there is continuity should they want a third film as part of this new era. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire might signal the last time we see the original Ghostbusters together, as the future of these films lies with the younger team officially leading the way.