Key Points
Rick Moranis scored a standing ovation at the Comic-Con panel for the Spaceballs sequel.
The beloved actor stepped out from the crowd in his character’s helmet.
Moranis declared that it was “time” for him to return to acting.
Bow down to Lord Dark Helmet.
At Friday’s Comic-Con panel for Spaceballs: The New One, original star Rick Moranis, who is returning to the big screen for the first time in 30 years, earned a standing ovation and chants of “Rick” as he emerged from the crowd.
The Spaceballs 2 event was already underway when moderator Kevin Smith and fellow cast members like Lewis Pullman, Josh Gad, and Keke Palmer were on the stage and looking for Moranis. He eventually arrived in his character’s iconic oversized Darth Vader-esque helmet, and those in attendance went wild as he joined his costars.
Rick Moranis in ‘Spaceballs’Credit: MGM/courtesy Everett Collection
Written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, 1987’s Spaceballs served as a parody of the initial three Star Wars films. Moranis memorably played Lord Dark Helmet, the undersized Spaceballs enforcer.
Spaceballs: The New One is a comeback for Moranis, a beloved figure throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. The actor’s last live-action film role was 1997’s Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, the third installment in his family franchise.
“It just felt like this is it, it’s time,” Moranis said at the panel. “I said yes, and it is the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Moranis stepped back from screen acting after his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, died from breast cancer in 1991. “I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people,” he told THR in 2015. “I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful.”
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Brooks appeared via video at the panel, with the 100-year-old legend serving as a producer and actor on the sequel.
“It is very good writing,” Brooks said of the script from Gad, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit. “And you could have used my help but you didn’t need it. It was easy, it was fun, and God bless you all.”
Spaceballs: The New One hits theaters on April 23, 2027.
Check out more of EW’s coverage from San Diego Comic-Con 2026.
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