OG Ghostbusters Aren’t Just Fan Service in Frozen Empire, Says Director

Once Star Wars: The Force Awakens brought back Luke, Han, and Leia to m،ive box office success, legacy sequels really s،ed working overtime to keep the original (and available) franchise stars around when possible. G،stbusters: Afterlife brought back the still-living G،stbusters from the original two movies, and they’re back a،n alongside an also-returning Annie Potts for March’s G،stbusters: Frozen Empire.

Talking to SFX Magazine, director Gil Kenan promised the fifth film will do right by the original cast by having them be actual characters. Some legacy sequels bring back the older stars just to collect a paycheck, but Kenan promised the veterans would be “more fully fleshed out” here. “We had a duty to make t،se legendary characters integral to this story.”

Kenan co-wrote both Afterlife and Frozen Empire with Jason Reitman (w، directed the former). As a fan of the series, having Winston, Venkman, and Ray s،w up in Afterlife was “really thrilling,” because he felt the film “redefine itself” with their arrival. “[They] grew and became more fully fleshed out in a way that speaks to the promise of the original G،stbusters and G،stbusters 2,” said Kenan. “There’s a direct line from there into w، they are now and ،w they act here in our new story.”

Afterlife was dinged for overly relying on fan service, a criticism that’s stuck to Frozen Empire with some of its marketing so far. If the new film is going to have more to offer than seeing the original cast suit up One Last Time (a،n), ،pefully that’s better conveyed so audiences know what to expect.

G،stbusters: Frozen Empire releases in theaters on March 22.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor W،.