Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a film that looks to accomplish many things. It is a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, while also bringing back the original Ghostbusters actors from the 1984 film in a more substantial role. It also introduces a whole host of new characters including big-name comedy stars like Paul Rudd or Kumail Nanjiani. Additionally, the film has also served as a franchise vehicle for some exciting young talent who will likely be the next big stars of their generation. Two big names in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire are Mckenna Grace and Emily Alyn Lind, who play Ghostbuster Phoebe Spengler and the new lead ghost character Melody, respectively.

Phoebe and Melody’s friendship in the movie is one of the hearts of the movie, as it puts a Ghostbuster and the very creature their job is to eradicate on a new playing field. Many read a romantic subtext between the two characters, and be it intentional or not, it was one of the best elements in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. This works to the incredible job of both Grace and Lind. Grace has emerged as one of the most accomplished young stars of her generation, as we said in our review of Crater last year. Lind is from an acting dynasty that includes her mother, Barbara Alyn Woods, and her two sisters, Natalie Alyn Lind and Alyvia Alyn Lind, where each member has found a way to stand out and make their own exciting career.

In honor of the digital release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Grace and Lind sat down with MovieWeb to talk about the movie. They both shared their experience working on the film. Lind detailed what it was like to keep the character secret for so long, and Grace revealed a funny story about the name of her production company.

Grace’s Past and Future with Phoebe Spengler
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 3.5/5 Release Date March 22, 2024 Cast Mckenna Grace , Carrie Coon , Annie Potts , Paul Rudd , Emily Alyn Lind , Bill Murray , Finn Wolfhard , Ernie Hudson , Dan Aykroyd , Patton Oswalt , William Atherton , Kumail Nanjiani

Grace previously played the character of Phoebe Spengler in 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and gets to reprise her role with a major gap in time between films. Her return as Phoebe Spengler now comes five years after she was first cast. In regard to the biggest difference between filming Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Grace said, “This experience was different in the sense that I am more kind of a person now. I was like 12 when I got the first one. So it’s been nice to actually connect with my cast and to be able to do things and hang out after set and just kind of be there.”

While Afterlife was released in 2021, it was filmed in 2019 and was initially set for release in 2020 before being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This means fans hopefully won’t have to wait that long for a third film, and Grace already has some ideas for what she wants to see more of from Phoebe. In fact, it has more to do with her on-screen brother Finn Wolfhard, who plays Trevor Spengler in the films.

“I’d like to see some Phoebe and Trevor. I don’t know. I feel like they’re kind of there and have their quips here and there, but I’d like to see more of their relationship. We’ve gotten to see a lot of Phoebe and Callie, and now, we’ve seen a lot of Phoebe and Gary. She’s been kind of connecting with the whole family,” Grace said. “I love Finn. I love working with Finn. I have a great time with him. So I just feel like we work well together and that Phoebe and Trevor just kind of have a funny thing going. I feel like it’d be fun to be able to see more of their sibling dynamic.”

Emily Alyn Lind’s Secret Character

Audiences who went to see Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire were certainly shocked at the reveal of a new character, a young ghost girl named Melody, played by Lind. Aside from the initial casting announcement, this character was absent from the film’s marketing. Now that the movie is out, Lind is able to talk about it freely, but for over a year, she had to keep it a secret.

“Gil [Kenan] really wanted no one to know,” she said. “It’s like, you can’t beat around the bush there. You either get to say, ‘I have a secret character’ and not say anything because you can’t just kind of say you’re a ghost. So I understood why they wanted to do that. It was kind of more fulfilling, you know, afterward because I saw at the premiere in New York for the first time when I saw the movie, but I also saw myself as a ghost, see-through, blue flame person. I’d never seen myself like that, like on set. It was really cool to see for the first time with everyone who made it.”

While she might not have worn any motion capture for the film and didn’t know how they would pull off the effect, she did have a general idea of how her character looked. She says, “We had long talks and he [Gil Kenan] has so many drawings. He has amazing sketches of Melody and has who she is exactly down to the T,” Lind says. She continues:

“But he wanted me to be kind of blissfully unaware of the visual effects that were going to happen. So I could play it not be thinking about the special effects at all, to be more natural. Because, you know, Melody, the most important thing I think was that she’s a ghost, but she’s such a human, she’s got such a heart.”

Great Expectations for Ghostbusters

Luckily, fans have been accepting of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire right out of the gate, but that didn’t mean there certainly wasn’t a great deal of pressure. Grace had the fortune of having starred in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was well-received by fans and audiences. How does Grace deal with being part of a popular franchise like Ghostbusters?

“I try not to think too much about the pressures of it. I just kind of try to go to set and make something that I, as a Ghostbusters fan, will love and that I’m proud of because, you know, I care very deeply about Phoebe and this franchise. So I feel like it isn’t fair to get in my head about the pressure because then I would be overthinking everything, which I already am. So I just kind of try to just put as much love into the character as I can and just make something that I’m proud of.”

As for Lind, there was a different type of pressure. While she was not present in the film’s marketing, once audiences saw the movie, her character Melody would be put under a great deal of scrutiny as she marks the first true ghost lead character in the film. While the franchise obviously features many iconic ghosts, Melody is different from Slimer or the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in the sense that she is a humanoid ghost who interacts with the main characters and raises a lot of interesting questions in terms of both the lore and what a Ghostbuster’s duty is. Lind realized the pressure that comes with Ghostbusters when she spoke with the film producer and co-writer, Jason Reitman, who previously directed Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

“I didn’t even realize that kind of until, I guess, in the middle of filming. I was having a conversation with Jason [Reitman] about that, and he said something like ‘yeah, you should be worried. These Ghostbusters fans, if they don’t like you, they’ll tell you’ and I’m like ‘You wrote it? Like, can you make me likable then? I want them to like me’. I didn’t know what to expect. But everyone was really, really cool. It was kind of scary, but I think it worked out.”

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is available for purchase and rental through Video on Demand.