Summary

• Outfits in "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" promised a new look with red coats, but only one character actually wears it in the film.
• The new jackets were a fun tease for the sequel, but failed to materialize for the rest of the main characters in the movie.
• The marketing material hinted at a visual distinction between old and new Ghostbusters, but ultimately fell short in the final cut.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ushers in a new era for the Ghostbusters crew, but not everything from the trailers made it to the final cut. The Ghostbusters movies busted onto the big screen back in 1984, when four incredible actors and comedians donned the light grey overalls that would become their official uniform. The franchise followed up with a sequel in 1989, but after that, the series was retired for decades, aside from a couple of animated cartoons and video games that kept the series in vogue.

Then, the series received a reboot in 2016 with a female-led cast that failed to reignite the spark, before the earlier franchise was brought back from the dead in 2021 with Ghostbusters: Afterlife. However, for most of that time, the outfits worn by the Ghostbusters have stayed largely the same. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire heavily implied that an update to the traditional costume would appear in the film, but the final movie failed to deliver on the promise.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Cut Most Of The Movie's Cool New Red Coats

The Updated Uniform Never Made It To The Big Screen

Listen, I'm a huge fan of the iconic suits, and it works perfectly with the goofy, funny vibe of the movies. The boiler suits feel authentic, home-made, and like good workwear for a job that could see you slimed one day, or possessed the next. However, it wouldn't hurt to throw a little something else in the mix and make it into something that feels more durable and dependable when the conditions go beyond the norm. And that's exactly what the marketing material and trailers hinted was coming when it revealed the new Ghostbusters' red coats worn by the group.

This big baggy jacket sports the team logo, and with a villain who is bringing the chill, it makes perfect sense for everyone to grab their coziest winter jackets. So, when the movie came out, and the jackets failed to materialize for almost the entire picture, it was an easy thing to miss. Eventually, Lucky, one of the extended of the team, grabs the official large red coat and wears it to fight against Garraka, but everyone else just sticks to the usual overalls.

The Ghostbusters' New Jackets Were A Fun Tease For The Latest Sequel

They Appeared In Marketing And Promo Material

While a simple change in wardrobe might feel like something insignificant, it promised a way that this new generation of Ghostbusters would distinguish themselves from the classic team. In fact, this same distinction is seen in the marketing and posters, because even though the old and new cast appear side by side, the classic team don't appear in the jackets, while Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard all do.

While this is the group that has now taken over the duties of the day to day ghostbusting in the films, and a family, none of them wear the new jackets in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Instead, it's one of the adjacent new characters that gets a jacket in the movie, while there is no clear distinction between the old and new heroes. It's not like I want them to be separated, but visually showing the distinction felt like it could have been a beautiful tribute and way to say the Ghostbusters franchise is moving on. Instead, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire wound up with a bunch of false promises in the marketing.