Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire star Paul Rudd recalled how overwhelmed he was driving the iconic Ecto-1 in the upcoming installment.
“To be in a Ghostbusters flight suit and driving the Ecto-1 was a real kick,” Rudd said in an interview with Total Film featuring new images from the latest Ghostbusters movie. “You know, there aren’t many of those vehicles around. It isn’t like they built them new for this movie. It’s pretty crazy to think, ‘This is the Ecto-1 from the original Ghostbusters and I get to drive it.'”
“You’re thinking, ‘Holy shit,'” Rudd added. “You’re thinking, ‘Wait, I’m actually driving the Ecto-1. This is the coolest thing ever.’ But then you’re thinking, ‘Don’t crash.’ You feel the weight of that thing, both literally and metaphorically, so it’s exciting and interesting.”
Rudd, reprising his role as Gary Grooberson from 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, may have felt the weight of nostalgia being inside the franchise’s modified 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Sentinel ambulance introduced in the original movie in 1984. His co-star Carrie Coon, however, felt the cold reality of filming inside the classic vehicle.
“More than once, we’ve been stuck inside the Ecto-1 when something would fall off or break,” Coon recalled. “I know it’s a very enviable position to be inside that car, but we do get beat up inside it. There are sharp edges. We all get bruises. It’s not comfortable. You know, it’s like driving an old car – but it’s also very surreal. To be honest, I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that I was inside the Ecto-1. Until I see the finished movie with my own eyes, it feels like I’m having an ’80s dream.”
What happens in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire?
“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,” says the official description. “But 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.”
Directed by Gil Kenan, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire stars Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Paul Rudd reprising their roles from 2021’s Afterlife. Additionally, original Ghostbusters stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton. Newcomers to the franchise include Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, and James Acaster.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hits cinemas on March 22.
