'Spaceballs 2' officially in production as Rick Moranis returns to acting

Rick Moranis has officially returned to acting as production has started on Spaceballs 2.

The actor has ended his live-action acting hiatus to be part of the cast of the upcoming sci-fi parody comedy film. Amazon MGM Studios made the full casting announcement for the sequel movie on Thursday.

Joining Moranis in the film’s cast are Josh Gad, Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman, Anthony Carrigan, George Wyner, Daphne Zuniga and Bill Pullman. They will all act alongside the film’s previously announced star, Mel Brooks.

While Moranis, Zuniga, Bill Pullman, Brooks and Wyner will reprise the roles they originated in the 1987 cult-classic film, Gad, Palmer, Lewis Pullman and Carrigan join the project as brand-new characters whose identities are being kept under wraps.

Amazon MGM Studios also shared a photo of the Spaceballs 2 cast and crew at a table read. “Spaceballs The Table Read,” the company captioned the post.

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar director Josh Greenbaum is helming the film from a script Gad co-wrote with Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez. Details of its plot “are being kept under lock, key, and an industrial-strength Schwartz shield,” according to a press release.

While Moranis has voiced a few animated characters over the past couple decades, Spaceballs 2 marks his first live-action film role since 1997.

Brooks first announced the film was happening in a video message shared in June.

“After 40 years we asked, ‘What do the fans want?’ But, instead, we’re making this movie,” Brooks said in the announcement video. He signed off by saying, “May the Schwartz be with you!”

Spaceballs 2 is expected to arrive in theaters in 2027.