Spaceballs 2: The New One - Rick Moranis Returns
Spaceballs: The New One is an Amazon MGM sequel to Mel Brooks's 1987 cult comedy, releasing April 23, 2027. Rick Moranis, 72, returned from a nearly 30-year Hollywood absence to star as Lord Dark Helmet, making his first-ever Comic-Con appearance in full costume on July 24–25, 2026. The film is directed by Josh Greenbaum and also stars Bill Pullman and Mel Brooks.
The context
Rick Moranis made his first-ever San Diego Comic-Con appearance on July 24–25, 2026, arriving in full Lord Dark Helmet costume to announce Spaceballs: The New One, his return to acting after nearly 30 years away from Hollywood. The Amazon MGM sequel to Mel Brooks’s beloved 1987 space comedy is set for release on April 23, 2027, directed by Josh Greenbaum, with Bill Pullman and Mel Brooks also returning.
Moranis, 72, stepped away from the film industry in 1997 after the death of his wife in order to raise his children, walking away from one of the busiest comedy careers of the 1980s and early 1990s. He made a brief cameo in a Ryan Reynolds Mint Mobile commercial in 2020, but Spaceballs 2 marks his full return to a feature film.
At Comic-Con, Moranis said the decision to return was the best he had ever made. The original Spaceballs has maintained a devoted cult following for nearly four decades, and the sequel is generating significant early buzz both from that fanbase and from audiences simply thrilled to see Moranis back on screen.