Culture news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Rick Moranis Makes Comic-Con Debut for ‘Spaceballs’ Sequel
Rick Moranis made his first-ever Comic-Con appearance to promote Spaceballs: The New One, Amazon MGM’s sequel to Mel Brooks’s 1987 Star Wars parody. His return as Dark Helmet is significant because he has largely stayed away from film and television this century, prompting a standing ovation and chants from the Hall H audience.
The panel also featured Josh Gad, director Josh Greenbaum, returning actor Daphne Zuniga, Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman and writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit. Gad said the project began after his daughter questioned why the original film’s joke about a sequel had never been fulfilled; Mel Brooks appeared in a recorded message, while the studio showed behind-the-scenes videos but no trailer or footage.
In short
- Rick Moranis made his first Comic-Con appearance.
- He returns as Dark Helmet in the Spaceballs sequel.
- Amazon MGM showed no trailer or film clips.
Explained simply
Rick Moranis is a Canadian-American actor and comedian known for roles in Ghostbusters, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and the original Spaceballs. He stepped back from acting in the early 2000s to focus on family life and has largely remained absent from the film and television industry for over two decades.
Spaceballs is a 1987 science fiction comedy directed by Mel Brooks that parodies the Star Wars franchise. The film, which featured Moranis in the role of Dark Helmet, has been widely recognised as a cult classic.
Amazon MGM Studios is developing a sequel called Spaceballs: The New One. The project was initiated after producers decided to fulfil a gag from the original film in which it had joked about a forthcoming sequel.