A long time ago (1897) in a galaxy far, far away, Lone Star (Bill Pullman) and Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) flew off into the galaxy as the credits rolled on Spaceballs. But in this galaxy, there have been so many prequels, sequels, prequels to sequels, and sequels to prequels since that happened. Who better to capture this weird, IP-driven moment than the Eagle 5 crew?
The nü Spaceballsteam has accepted this mission with characteristic panache. Mel Brooks will officially reprise his role as Yogurt—a goofy Yoda knockoff—for the upcoming sequel, marking his first on-screen appearance since a cameo in 2005’s The Producers, The Hollywood Reporter reports. He’ll be joined by returning cast members Pullman and Rick Moranis (Lord Dark Helmet), as well as fresh Spaceballs face Keke Palmer in an undisclosed role, per Deadline. Moranis’ casting is especially notable, as the Little Shop Of Horrors actor hasn’t appeared on-screen in a film since 1997’s Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves .
Brooks celebrated the announcement with a very funny (if a little disheartening) video on X today. “Thirty-eight years ago, there was only one Star Wars trilogy. But since then, there have been…” its crawl reads, before launching into a truly mind-melting list of franchises and redos that have come to define the past few decades. That list includes every Star Wars property (including “a movie spinoff of the TV spinoff which is both a prequel and a sequel”), “2 Dunes,” “7 Jurassic Parks,” “2 Avatars plus 3 upcoming Avatars making 5 Avatars,” and many, many more. “But in thirty-eight years there has only ever been one Spaceballs. Until now…” the text concludes, before cutting to a shot of Brooks reciting the first film’s line, “May the Schwartz be with you,” while decked out in a sweatshirt reading “Spaceballs: The Sweatshirt.”
That video is a good sign for the sequel, which will be directed by Josh Greenbaum (Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar) from a script by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Josh Gad. Gad has also been rumored to star. The spoof’s plot is currently being kept under wraps, but Amazon MGM’s press release also seems to understand the task at hand. “The film has been described by those who have not yet read the script as ‘A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two’ but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film,” it reads, in part. The Schwartz is strong with this one.
