Legacy sequels might be becoming more common in Hollywood, but the upcoming Spaceballs 2 seems like a project to get excited about. Mel Brooks is once again involved as a producer, and much of the original Spaceballs cast, including the previously retired Rick Moranis, are reprising their roles. The cast also includes some new faces, like Lewis Pullman, and the gushed about how exciting it was to see Moranis back in action (and gave me FOMO in the process).
Pullman recently promoted his latest film, Remarkably Bright Creatures and, during the chat, he also fielded a question about Spaceballs: The New One. While speaking to Collider, Pullman opened up about what it has been like joining the long-awaited sequel alongside Moranis, who is reprising his role as the humorously villainous Dark Helmet. Pullman's description of the experience sounds unreal and makes me wish I could've been on set with them. He said:
I think just hearing him do the Dark Helmet voice, and him just slipping back into it so, so seamlessly. It was just a mind-boggling moment because that voice lives in my brain free of rent. Just hearing him find it again — he didn't even have to find it; it was just right there — was just a dream come true.
This sounds incredible and suggests that the character hasn’t left Rick Moranis even after all these years. Moranis stepped away from acting 30 years ago to be a single father and decided not to return. Over the years, he declined invitations to reprise famous roles, even turning down the new Ghostbusters films, because he didn't feel like it made sense for him.
I guess there was something about this sci-fi follow-up that made him get the acting bug again, and he even helped promote the movie at CinemaCon earlier this year. Leave it to Mel Brooks to make the impossible possible.
I’m excited to see Lewis Pullman in the new Spaceballs movie as well. Notably, his father, Bill Pullman, Lone Starr in the franchise's original film and will be reprising his role in the upcoming sequel.
Lewis has acted alongside his dad before in The Ballad of Lefty Brown and in Battle of the Sexes but, this time around, the Pullmans will be playing father and son in the aforementioned legacy sequel, which I think is truly adorable. I can’t wait to see how they play off of each other. They are both immensely talented, and this will give them both space to show off their comedic chops.
Between Rick Moranis slipping back into Dark Helmet and the real father-and-son dynamic between the Pullmans, Spaceballs 2 seems like it’s about to be more than a nostalgia trip. It feels like the creative team is putting together something that's been worth waiting 40 years for. As a comedy nerd and a Mel Brooks fan, I wish I could've been behind the scenes watching all of this unfold. So, when Moranis, Pullman and co. start promoting the movie, I'll certainly be keeping my ears perked up for BTS stories.
You will be able to see both Lewis Pullman and Rick Moranis in Spaceballs: The New One when it hits theaters on April 23, 2027. In the meantime, fans can stream the original 1987 film now with a Prime Video subscription.
