With Spaceballs: The New One set to hit theaters next year, Rick Moranis is opening up about reprising his role as Lord Darth Helmet.
Videos by Suggest
While appearing at the film’s panel during San Diego Comic-Con last weekend, Moranis admitted that returning to the Spaceballs universe felt weird at first.
“Well, I kept having to pinch myself because I would look at Daphne [Zuniga] and Bill [Pullman] and George Wyner. Earl Sanders. And then there were all these young people,” he said, referring to the rest of the cast. “And I realized I was their age 39 years ago when we made this. Here we are now, and my kids are the age of this.”
The actor shared, “I felt like I was in a time warp, but I was in that outfit and wearing the helmet. And it just felt very strange, to be honest with you. But it started to feel really good, and I really started to love it.”
Moranis will be returning to the big screen for the first time in nearly 30 years. He previously retired in 1997, a few years after his wife, Ann Belsky, died from cancer.
Mel Brooks, Spaceballs director and star, is reprising his role as Yogurt. Frozen star Josh Gad is among those writing the script. Gad will also be acting in the film as “Mawg,” which is the same species as John Candy’s famous Spaceballs character, Barf.
‘Spaceballs’ Sequel Director Recalls Recreating Moranis’ Lord Darth Helmet Look
Spaceballs: The New One director Josh Greenbaum recalled how he recreated Lord Dark Helmet’s iconic look, featuring a massive helmet.
When we were trying to get the helmet made and figure out the helmet, we were like, ‘We got to figure out the glasses,’” the filmmaker stated. “And I asked Rick, I said, ‘Do you remember what brand?’”
“I had the original glasses,” Moranis answered. “In fact, I wound up keeping it all. They were prescriptions, so I wound up keeping a pair or two of the glasses from all the movies I did.”
He further shared, “So all these years, instead of playing with my dolls, I’ve been playing with my glasses.”