Rumours about a third Ghostbusters movie swirled for literal decades, but a threequel never materialised following Ghostbusters II's 1989 release. Eventually, a reboot followed in 2016 with an all-female cast (the original leads, meanwhile, were relegated to cameo roles as forgettable new characters).
While the movie faced an inevitable level of sexist backlash before it arrived in theaters, the simple fact was it ended up being a largely disappointing fresh start for the franchise which failed to take full advantage of stars Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.
In 2021, a proper third instalment - Ghostbusters: Afterlife - was released and a fourth chapter, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, just arrived in theaters. That's given the franchise's original stars a chance to shine alongside a new, younger cast, and Ernie Hudson (Dr. Winston Zeddemore) reflected on the 2016 reboot in an interview with The Independent (via FearHQ.com).
"Look, I’m a fan of [director] Paul Feig so I have nothing negative about him to say," he tells the site. "Other than: I don’t quite understand why you do a reboot, you know what I mean? Just make another movie."
Saying Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon, and Jones were "brilliantly funny on their own," Hudson notes, "Fans were really invested in the story and the characters and I think it was disappointing. I enjoyed the movie but I think it wasn’t what fans were hoping for."
As for what the future holds in store for Winston after Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the beloved actor says nothing has been discussed yet, but admits he'd "love for Winston Zeddemore to be the Nick Fury of the Ghostbusters."
Back in 2021, McCarthy shared her confusion about the backlash and defended the 2016 movie's intention to put the spotlight on four female leads. "There’s no end to stories we can tell, and there’s so many reboots and relaunches and different interpretations, and to say any of them are wrong, I just don’t get it, I don’t get the fight to see who can be the most negative and the most hate-filled."
"Everybody should be able to tell the story they want to tell. If you don’t want to see it, you don’t have to see it."
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level.
However, when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.
The movie is now playing in theaters.