'Spaceballs 2' Is Officially Happening And RICK MORANIS Is Back For It

(Deadline) Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis are set to reprise their respective roles as President Skroob and Dark Helmet in the new Spaceballs movie from Amazon MGM Studios, with Keke Palmer (One of Them Days) joining the cast, sources tell Deadline.

Amazon declined to comment, and character details for Palmer are under wraps, as is the sequel’s plot. The addition of Moranis is particularly striking, as the actor hasn’t been seen much on screen for decades. As announced this morning, the original film’s director and star, Mel Brooks, will also feature in the cast once again, reprising his role as Yogurt. Slated for release in theaters in 2027, the film has been described by those who have not yet read the script as “A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film.”

Lets start with the good here. 'Spaceballs', to me, is a classic. One of the gold standard parody movies that still holds up well to this day unlike a lot of movies from the same genre when we were growing up (I'm looking at you, 'Meet the Spartans'). Director Mel Brooks is an American comedy legend and anything/everything he wants to do should be green lit without question. And the fact that they were able to get Rick Moranis, who is a treasure of the late 80's and 90's, out of retirement is amazing! We're talking about a guy that was on top of the world before his wife unfortunately passed away from cancer in 1991, leading to him taking a hiatus from acting to take care of his children. So to get him back in a live-action movie with one of the greats is about as heartwarming as it gets. And, to top it off, I think the director of this movie Josh Greenbaum did pretty great work in 'Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar', a comedy more people should watch. 

So now, the bad. When I'm looking for a comparison to set standards for the movie, there is only one: 'History of the World, Part II'. This was a follow up series produced by Mel Brooks, who obviously made the original movie, that released on Hulu in 2023. It was...not great. Brooks is credited as a writer on all the eps alongside a pretty large room. On top of that, we all probably have the same hesitation about a late stage sequel, remake etc. 

However, crazier things have happened than this movie being good! Would anybody have expected a 30 years late Top Gun sequel being significantly better than the original? All I'm saying is that it is a possibility. Even if this ends up being the most wretched pile of shit ever, I'm on board if for no reason other than seeing Mel Brooks and Rick Moranis on screen again.