Josh Gad Teases Why Rick Moranis Decided to Return to Acting for ‘Spaceballs 2’

Spaceballs star Rick Moranis isn’t suiting back up as Dark Helmet for nothing. 

Shortly before heading to Australia to start work on the tentatively titled Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, co-writer Josh Gad offered some insights into Moranis’ decision to reprise his villainous role, teasing why the actor came out of retirement for the Star Wars parody’s long-awaited sequel. 

“Hypothetically, if he were to return, I would say it’s because Rick would have felt like this was a project worthy of his return,” Gad recently told ScreenRant, apparently unaware that Deadline previously confirmed Moranis’ participation in the project. 

The Frozen star, who encouraged fans to “watch this space” for what could only be yet another confirmation of Moranis’ not-so-theoretical comeback, also recalled the “surreal” experience of reviving the beloved ‘80s film nearly four decades later.

“When the movie was prophesized (sic) in the first film, when Yogurt says, ‘God willing, we’ll all meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money,’ I, like everyone else, was just anticipating that that would happen sooner than 40 years later,” Gad joked, noting that he “grew up” with the original space-themed farce. 

This decades-spanning gap proved to be for the best. Beyond serving as Moranis’ first theatrically-released film since 2006’s Brother Bear, Gad expressed how “grateful” and “thrilled” he felt to be revisiting Spaceballs alongside 99-year-old Mel Brooks. “It’s the greatest gift on Earth to be able to not only be on the precipice of shooting this movie, but to be able to do it while Mel is still with us,” he explained. “I’m beyond excited, and that's about all I can say for now.” 

Or as Colonel Sandurz once famously put it,​​ “We’re at now, now.”