Nearly 40 years after the original warped into cinemas, ‘Spaceballs 2’ is officially back in action. Amazon MGM Studios has confirmed that Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, George Wyner, and Mel Brooks will reprise their roles in a long-awaited sequel, joined by a new generation of comedy talent.
This marks a particularly momentous return for Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), who stepped away from live-action acting in the late 1990s to raise his children as a single father after the death of his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, in 1991. While he continued occasional voice work and commercials, he found film acting too difficult to balance with parenting, a decision he has said he has no regrets about. He now returns to once again don the oversized helmet as the villainous Lord Dark Helmet.
Bill Pullman (Independence Day, The Sinner) returns as Lone Starr, Daphne Zuniga (Melrose Place, One Tree Hill) as Princess Vespa, George Wyner (A Serious Man, A Million Little Things) as Colonel Sandurz, and Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles, History of the World Part I) as Yogurt.
They are joined by newcomers Josh Gad (Frozen, Beauty and the Beast) in a mysterious new role, Keke Palmer (Nope, One of Them Days) as Destiny, and Lewis Pullman (Thunderbolts, The Testament of Ann Lee) as Starburst, the son of Lone Starr and Vespa. Anthony Carrigan (Barry, Superman) has also signed on, with his character still under wraps.
Speaking about the project, co-writer Josh Gad explained, “It’s surreal because I grew up with Spaceballs and when the movie was prophesized in the first film, when Yogurt says, ‘God willing, we’ll all meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money,’ I, like everyone else, was just anticipating that that would happen sooner than 40 years later. But I am so grateful it took that long because it’s the greatest gift on Earth to be able to not only be on the precipice of shooting this movie, but to be able to do it while Mel is still with us.”
Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) directs the sequel from a script co-written by Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez (Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, TMNT: Mutant Mayhem), along with Josh Gad. Behind the scenes, the film is produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and Jeb Brody, alongside Brooks, Gad, Greenbaum, and Kevin Salter. Executive producers include Adam Merims, Benji Samit, and Dan Hernandez.
The original 1987 comedy spoof, written and directed by Brooks, famously parodied Star Wars and other sci-fi classics, with Moranis’ Dark Helmet attempting to kidnap Princess Vespa to steal Druidia’s air supply, only to be thwarted by Lone Starr, Yogurt, and a very meta script.
Amazon MGM has yet to reveal the sequel’s plot, though filming is underway.
‘Spaceballs 2’ will launch into cinemas in 2027.
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