The Schwartz awakens! During an interview on Adam Carolla’s podcast, Take A Knee, Mel Brooks announced his intention to make a sequel to Spaceballs, his 1987 sci-fi spoof. He hopes to have the sequel in theaters to coincide with the release of J.J. Abrams’ new Star Wars trilogy, as the originals were obvious targets for satire the first time around.
Brooks said he would use the title Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money (a gag from the original film), and would start shooting shortly after Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens debuts. Presumably, the moichandising machine will be fired up to coincide with the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII: Turn Off The Dark Side.
There is, of course, a catch—because even in the future, nothing works. Brooks said he would like to reunite the original cast—minus the late John Candy and Joan Rivers, naturally—and that the whole enterprise hinges on coaxing Rick Moranis out of retirement. Moranis played villain Dark Helmet in the original, and his wild swings between Vader-esque villain and his usual nebbish persona were the film’s highlight. “I’ve got the helmet in storage, just waiting for him,” said Brooks. But the director has been in contact with Moranis in recent years and says he’s “really strict” about staying retired. Moranis’ last on-screen appearance was the 1997 direct-to-video sequel Honey We Shrunk Ourselves. Since then, he’s done some voice work in a few kids movies, but the last of those was direct-to-video sequel Brother Bear 2 in 2006. Perhaps Brooks can remind Moranis he won’t be doing it for the money… he’ll be doing it for a shitload of money!