Ghostbusters star Paul Rudd was worried he'd crash the iconic Ecto-1 car while filming the upcoming sequel Frozen Empire

Total Film exclusive image: Ghostbusters Frozen Empire
(Image credit: Sony/Total Film)

The Spengler family returns to New York City in the upcoming sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, along with some familiar faces. As well as returning cast members like Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon, the original busters are back again to face the threat of a second ice age closing in on their city.

But the actors aren’t the only ones who are back, as the iconic Ecto-1 makes a reappearance – and as Total Film was shown during a trip to the editing suite, it forms part of an exciting chase scene through the streets of the city.

Paul Rudd, who plays Gary Grooberson, tells Total Film in our new issue out this Friday, which features Road House on the cover, that shooting that moment was "really exciting".

"To be in a Ghostbusters flight suit and driving the Ecto-1 was a real kick," the Marvel star explains. "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.'"

What else goes through the mind of an actor when they’re sitting in the driver’s seat of a classic car with a prominent place in Hollywood history? "You’re thinking, 'Holy shit,'" chuckles Rudd, clearly enjoying the memory. "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 wasn't the only one blown away by the experience either, with Coon adding that the process isn't always a relaxing ride. "More than once, we’ve been stuck inside the Ecto-1 when something would fall off or break," she remembers. "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."

We've also got some exclusive images from the new movie in the latest issue, featuring everything from the original team to another look at the new big bad Garraka. Check them out below.

Total Film exclusive image: Ghostbusters Frozen Empire

(Image credit: Sony/Total Film)

Total Film exclusive image: Ghostbusters Frozen Empire

(Image credit: Sony/Total Film)

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is released in cinemas on March 22. And you can read more about it and a whole lot else besides in the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Friday, March 1. This is one day later than usual, due to how the Leap Year falls. 

Check out the covers below:

Total Film's Road House covers

(Image credit: Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios/Total Film)

Pre-order the issue here to bag your copy, or click here to subscribe to Total Film and never miss another exclusive. You’ll get every issue before it's in stores, and you’ll get subscriber-exclusive covers. 

Total Film's subscriber offer

(Image credit: Universal/Warner Bros./Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios/Focus Features)
With contributions from
Read more
The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer
The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer Easter eggs – The 12 Marvel nods we spotted, from the Fantasticar to the Baxter Building
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State may be the Russo brothers' most challenging VFX project yet, but stars Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito say it's one of the easiest films they’ve ever done
Millie Bobby Brown in The Electric State
The Russo brothers’ upcoming Netflix movie The Electric State includes a section that takes place before the graphic novel due to its "vague narrative"
Captain America: Brave New World
That Captain America: Brave New World cameo changed several times, but it was always going to be that character
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State star Giancarlo Esposito explains why adapting the bleak novel into a family friendly adventure was the right decision: "I'm going to bring my children with me"
Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci in The Electric State
Stars Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito say their new dystopian sci-fi movie The Electric State is more like our own reality than we might realize
Latest in Sci-Fi Movies
The Russo brothers
The Russo brothers defend use of AI in The Electric State: "There’s a lot of finger-pointing and hyperbole because people are afraid"
John Boyega as Finn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
John Boyega reveals Tom Cruise actually helped him get cast in Star Wars
The Electric State
Despite The Electric State's $300 million price tag on Netflix, the Russos say it "doesn't make a ton of sense to continue to spend that way"
Aaron Paul in Ash
Breaking Bad star's new sci-fi horror movie debuts to an almost perfect score on RT as first reactions compare it to Event Horizon
Starship Troopers
District 9 filmmaker Neil Blomkamp is working on a Starship Troopers reboot that goes back to the original 1959 novel
Chris Pratt in The Electric State
The Electric State post-credits scene: does the Russo brothers' new Netflix movie have a post-credits scene?
Latest in News
Palworld
"We hit this disgusting number that makes me feel sick": Palworld devs don't know why their survival game was so successful - "If we knew how to do it, we'd do it again"
Palworld
Nintendo's Palworld lawsuit "came as a shock" to Pocketpair because patent infringement was "something that no one even considered"
Palworld screenshot showing a young woman with tied-back red hair petting her Pal, a large white and purple Xenogard
Palworld dev reckons "very few companies could survive" a launch like theirs: "A lot of companies might crumble under the threats, under the pressure, under the negativity"
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
For 30 years, PC gamers have been keeping this cult classic horror game based on a 58-year-old short story to themselves, but next week it's finally coming to consoles
Colin Farrell wins Golden Globe for The Penguin
Penguin actor Colin Farrell could be going from villain to hero as the star of DC's Sgt. Rock movie
A screenshot from No Man's Sky showing someone in a space suit stood amongst futuristic-looking architecture.
No Man's Sky programmer shares the "first 3D world" he co-created at 18 years old, which was "a foundational step for me from there to No Man's Sky"