All the Ways Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Sets the Stage for More Ghostbusters

Thankfully, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has a more definitive ending than Ghostbusters: Afterlife. That film saw two generations of Ghostbusters finally defeat Gozer but then just… ended. Multiple end-credits scenes teased something new entirely and now, finally, we see that payoff.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire does, once again, have an end-credits scene that provides a brief tease of the future, but the true hints at what could potentially be next are mostly in the film itself. We’ll discuss it all below which, of course, requires spoilers.

So let’s take this in order. At the end of the film, the Ghostbusters end up defeating Garraka by sucking him into the original firehouse containment unit, but that happens at the expense of every other ghost in the unit escaping. At least we think it does. It’s not explained incredibly clearly but Garraka does seem to let all the ghosts out of the unit. Then, in the film’s final shot, we see the sewer ghost flying down the street and there are lots of ghosts flying around him. The implication is there’s a lot of work for the Ghostbusters to do now. Much more than before. So, there’s your first seed of what could come next. They need to redo all the work of the past 40 years.

Another seed comes in the casting of James Acaster, Kumail Nanjiani, and Patton Oswalt. All three comedians play characters who help the Ghostbusters in certain ways, and co-writer and director Gil Kenan confirmed that each could come back and join the team, potentially. “I hope we’re lucky enough to make more. And I wouldn’t count any of them out,” he told io9. Acaster and Oswalt’s roles seem fairly straightforward. Acaster’s Lars would be the smart, Egon type while Oswalt’s Dr. Wartzk would be a more deep-thought, Winston type. But then there’s Nanjiani’s Nadeem Razmaadi, and we think there’s more to him than many might realize.

In the film, we learn that Nadeem is a Firemaster, an ancient protector with a legacy passed down through the generations. With that comes the power to manipulate fire, a new skill he uses to help the Ghostbusters defeat Garraka. But what’s next after that? With a superhuman ability to manipulate fire, Nadeem wouldn’t just a Ghostbuster. He’s a super Ghostbuster. Or, and stay with us here, maybe he’s the next villain.

Think about it. A shy, poor, single guy realizes he has superpowers and now can do anything he wants? That’s the origin story for like every single villain in the history of comics. There’s no indication in Frozen Empire that this will happen— for the most part, Nadeem is humble and shocked by his powers—but can’t you see him becoming a real problem in the future? Something to consider for sure.

Finally, there’s that end-credits sequence. In it, a driver has his truck stolen by an army of Mini-Pufts and it’s revealed the truck they’re stealing is a Stay-Puft Marshmallow truck. The whole thing is played as a joke but let’s think about it a bit. The Mini-Pufts have, to this point over two films, been mostly comic relief. They cause a little chaos and a few annoyances, but that’s it. What’s their endgame though? By stealing a truck with, we assume, hundreds of thousands of marshmallows on it, now they could have a truly massive, formidable army. Do they act like a colony of ants? Or do they go more Voltron-style, and all form up to bring back the big guy from the original film? Either one seems possible. Plus, Nadeem controls fire, right? Marshmallows and fire go together quite well.

All that, along with the now infinite potential of Winston’s Paranormal Research Center, which opens a window to all manner of potential new tech, makes for an intriguing way forward if Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a hit. And if it’s not, it’s just nice to know the Ghostbusters are back and on the case.

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 Who.

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