Reclusive Comedy Icon Emerges for First Film in 30 Years
The star is returning to the big screen in a much-anticipated sequel.
After a 30-year hiatus, beloved comedian Rick Moranis is finally returning to the big screen.
The 72-year-old actor is reprising his role from Spaceballs, the 1987 space parody that gradually became a cult favorite.
In Spaceballs: The New One, Moranis returns as Dark Helmet, a parody of Darth Vader and the Spaceballs’ chief enforcer. He appears alongside original co-stars Bill Pullman, Mel Brooks, George Wyner, and Daphne Zuniga.
Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, and Rick Moranis reunited.
Eric Charbonneau/Amazon MGM Studios via Getty Images
The cast is rounded out by newcomers Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman, and Anthony Carrigan. Josh Gad, who co-wrote the Amazon MGM production, also stars in the film, directed by Josh Greenbaum.
Cast members and creators unveiled a first look at the Spaceballs sequel at CinemaCon on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. Brooks, the 99-year-old filmmaker who created the original film, revealed the film’s title in a special, pre-recorded teaser.
Brooks did not attend the event, but Moranis was there alongside his co-stars.
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Moranis stepped away from the spotlight in 1997—six years after the death of his wife, Ann Belsky, from cancer—to dedicate his time to their two children.
He has not appeared in any live-action films since. The Canadian actor and comedian was best known for his roles in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Ghostbusters, and Little Shop of Horrors.
Rick Moranis and Lewis Pullman promote the upcoming film “Spaceballs 2.”
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
“I took a break, which turned into a longer break,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “But I’m interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role.”
Moranis took on voice roles, such as Rutt in Disney’s 2003 beloved hit Brother Bear, and again in the film’s 2006 sequel.
“Stuff happens to people all the time, and people make adjustments, change careers, move to another city,” he told the publication. “Really, that’s all I did.”
Amazon shared an image of the director, cast, producers, and writers of the new “Spaceballs” flick at a table read.
Brook Rushton/Brook Rushton/Amazon
In September 2025, it was announced that Amazon MGM had begun production on Spaceballs 2, with Moranis in the cast. Amazon is remaining tight-lipped about the sequel’s plot, explaining in a press release, “Plot details for Spaceballs: The New One are being kept under what the studio describes as ‘lock, key, and an industrial-strength Schwartz shield.’”
Of Moranis, the studio described the actor’s comeback as “marking a rare and highly anticipated return to the big screen.”
Spaceballs: The New One is slated for release on April 23, 2027.
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