Spaceballs 2 is finally happening, and fans of Mel Brooks’ original film will be thrilled to hear what the sequel is bringing to the table. Ever since the announcement that the Spaceballs sequel was moving forward, fans have been wondering if (how?) members of the original cast would be returning, given that more than three decades have passed. Well, even though we may not have all the details yet, we now know that Brooks and Co. are definitely going for continuity with the first film, as the legendary comedic filmmaker is confirmed to be reprising his own role(s) in the sequel, while bringing back some other original stars along with him!
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It’s been confirmed that Rick Moranis and Bill Pullman are both returning for Spaceballs 2, in their respective roles as Darth Helmet and Lone Starr. Brooks will reportedly return as his Yoda satire character, “Yogurt,” and may also be reprising his secondary role as the bumbling “President Skroob” of Planet Spaceball. Keke Palmer (Nope) will join the veteran cast in an undisclosed role. [NOTE: The original report from Deadline may have some of these character details mixed up – it’s still being clarified at the time of writing this.]
Along with the casting reports, Brooks also put out this hilarious teaser for the Spaceballs sequel, which almost immediately plunges us right back into the satirical spirit of the original:
Moranis’s return is a big deal; after being a major comedic star of the ’80s and ’90s, the actor largely disappeared from Hollywood and public life. He did voice work in the 2000s for series like Bob & Doug McKenzie and Brother Bear, but since then he’s only done one appearance as himself in one of Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile ads, as well as (ironically) voicing Darth Helmet again for a 2018 episode of The Goldbergs TV series.
While Bill Pullman has been steadily working since the ’80s, his roles are much more infrequent these days. He starred in the cop drama series The Sinner (2017-2021), and played the titular role in last year’s crime-drama biopic about the high-profile murders allegedly committed by lawyer Alex Murdaugh. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Pullman do comedy; a lot of fans are wondering out loud if the actor’s son, Lewis Pullman, won’t also get roped into the cast, given how newfound fame after Marvel’s Thunderbolts*. Keke Palmer just scored a big comedic win starring alongside R&B star SZA in the cult-hit female-led comedy One of Them Days, which is getting its own sequel chapter. There are many fun ways Spaceballs 2 could deploy the actress – the most obvious being a composite of sequel trilogy heroes Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega).
Obviously, the sequel will not see the late John Candy returning as Barf – same for the late Joan Rivers, who played C-3PO knock-off “Dot Matrix.” The biggest question left is whether the final member of the main cast, actress Daphne Zuniga, will also return.
Spaceballs 2: Everything We Know (So Far)
Amazon-MGM is producing the Spaceballs sequel, which is being directed by Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar), who also worked on Star Wars Behind the Mac: Skywalker Sound, a short documentary about Star Wars’ sound designers. Frozen star Josh Gad co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit (The Addams Family 2, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem). Gad will also co-star and co-produce, with a big lineup of co-producers that includes Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Jeb Brody, and Brooks. Greenbaum, Kevin Salter, Adam Merims, Samit, and Hernandez are all onboard as executive producers.
The sequel has been something of a passion project for Gad, who loved MGM’s 1987 Star Wars spoof film (which also lampooned other famous sci-fi works). The main story of the film saw Brooks’ President Skroob and Moranis’ Darth Helmet attempting to use their superweapon (a mega-vacuum) to steal the atmosphere of the planet “Druidia” and doom its people. “Druish” princess Vespa (Zuniga) is captured and rescued by smuggler-turned-hero Lone Starr (Pullman) and his furry dog-man partner, Barf (Candy). The film did send-ups of many Star Wars staples (like having Dom DeLuise voice “Pizza the Hut”) and has been one of the biggest cult-classics in Mel Brooks’ filmography.
Gad has admitted he had to walk Mel Brooks through the convoluted modern canon of Star Wars in order to crack the idea for the sequel.
“I pitch for 40 minutes. It’s literally like, I am a combat vet just going to war in front of one person,” Gad previously said. “I’m sweating, I am getting into every line and every beat and every comedic set piece, every reveal. I’m painting all of it and I’m speaking to how this speaks to a certain Star Wars moment.”
For all his effort, Gad moved Brooks, who responded, “Wow. Josh, it really sounds like you’ve got your finger on the pulse!”
The sequel is cheekily being described as ‘A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two – but with Reboot Elements – Franchise Expansion Film.’ That alone already feels like Gad and Co. are taking sharp aim at both George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels and the Disney era of the franchise thereafter, which has produced the sequel trilogy, numerous spinoffs, and an overload of TV/streaming content.
Spaceballs 2 is in development.
