Director Clarifies Why Rick Moranis & Sigourney Weaver Are Absent From ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’
Continuing the storyline from 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Frozen Empire teams up the new crew with classic stars like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ director Gil Kenan was grilled about pulling Rick Moranis back into the Ghostbusters squad as Louis Tully. While he tried to toss the question towards his writing mate and producer Jason Reitman, Kenan fessed up they hadn’t penned a spot for Moranis. He said Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barrett also got axed from Frozen Empire since there wasn’t a fitting plotline for her.
Continuing the storyline from 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Frozen Empire teams up the new crew with classic stars like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts. And guess who’s back? William Atherton’s Walter Peck, the guy who gave the team grief back in the 1984 original, plays the same EPA inspector role.
It makes sense for the makers to aim for Rick Moranis to reprise Louis Tully in the franchise, considering his pivotal roles in the ’80s originals. Despite other legacy stars returning in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot and later sequels, Moranis hasn’t hopped on board yet.
Given his decisions regarding his career, it’s unlikely Moranis would return as Louis Tully in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. After hits like Little Shop of Horrors and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, he left acting in 1997 for his his family. Though he’s done voice work, TV cameos, and a Mint Mobile ad, he’s retired from movies.
Though he committed to a Honey I Shrunk The Kids revival in 2020, delays halted his big-screen return. While a Ghostbusters cameo could be prestigious, his absence from recent films suggests neither he nor producers are pushing for a Louis cameo.
Given Weaver’s willingness in a post-credits scene in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, it’s likelier for producers to secure her return in a future sequel. Also, if Kenan and Reitman aim to bring back Dana Barrett, her storyline from Ghostbusters II offers a perfect chance. In the sequel, Dana’s son Oscar was targeted by the supernatural villain Vigo the Carpathian. Reitman hinted at Vigo’s potential return, suggesting Dana might seek the new Ghostbusters team’s help to protect her adult son from the same entity that once targeted him as a child. This could bridge the gap between the original movies and the latest instalments.
