After taking a multi-decade break from the big screen, beloved actor Rick Moranis has returned… and has even stepped out to promote the new project.
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The 72-year-old actor joined his Spaceballs co-stars on April 15 to celebrate the classic film’s upcoming sequel, marking his return to the public eye nearly 30 years after leaving Hollywood. Moranis appeared at Amazon MGM Studios’ CinemaCon 2026 presentation in Las Vegas to promote Spaceballs: The New One.
The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids legend, who is reprising his role as Lord Dark Helmet, smiled for the camera as he posed for photos with original cast members Daphne Zuniga (Princess Vespa) and Bill Pullman (Lone Starr). The trio was also joined by new cast members for Spaceballs: The New One, including Josh Gad and Pullman’s son, Lewis.
This will be the first live-action big-screen role Moranis has played since 1997’s Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves
Rick Moranis and His Original ‘Spaceballs’ Co-Stars Reflect on Coming Back After 39 Years…
Meanwhile, the returning Spaceballs cast members got candid in a fun moment at the event. When asked what it was like donning his massive helmet again after nearly forty years, Moranis was quick with his signature SCTV wit.
“Well, for me, it felt like I was living life all over again,” he sardonically told Entertainment Tonight, which was met with guffaws by the rest of the cast. “The only difference was that Bill came with his son,” the Ghostbusters star joked after mentioning several cast members were the age he was back when he filmed the original.
Zuniga also admitted a key difference coming back for the Spaceballs sequel.
“I just needed naps and more coffee,” the 63-year-old quipped.
Meanwhile, Spaceballs mastermind Mel Brooks, a sprightly 99, appeared in a new teaser for the upcoming film. After joking that the sequel wouldn’t be called Spaceballs: The Search for More Money because he finally “found the money” in his basement, he announced its official title: Spaceballs: The New One. He promised the movie, set for an April 23, 2027, release, “is just like the old one, only newer.”
Moranis famously stepped away from acting to become a full-time dad after the death of his wife, Anne Belsky, in 1997.
“I took a break, which turned into a longer break,” Moranis explained to the Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “But I’m interested in anything that I would find interesting.”
Looks like he finally found something interesting… and thank goodness, we’ve missed him.