Mel Brooks Announces ‘Spaceballs 2’ to Open in Theaters in 2027

Mel Brooks will mark the 40th anniversary of Spaceballs with … another Spaceballs. The filmmaker announced Thursday that a sequel was in the works for 2027. “After 40 years, we asked, ‘What do the fans want?’” he said in a video clip. “But instead we’re making this movie.”

The teaser runs like a Star Wars space scroll, summarizing all the sequels and series that have come out since Brooks spoofed that franchise with Spaceballs in the Eighties. “Thirty-eight years ago, there was only one Star Wars trilogy,” it says. “But since then, there have been … a prequel trilogy, a sequel trilogy, a sequel to the prequel, a prequel to the sequel, countless TV spinoffs, a movie spinoff of the TV spinoff, which is both a prequel and a sequel.” And this is in addition to two Dunes, seven Jurassic Parks, five Avatars, and so much more. (One sequel curiously absent from the crawl is Brooks’ own History of the World, Part II.) It ends with, “But in thirty-eight years, there has only ever been one … Spaceballs.)

Other than Brooks’ appearance (wearing Spaceballs: The Sweatshirt) at the end of the clip announcing the sequel, the only fact, other than the movie is in the works, that the teaser shares is that it will be only in theaters. So there’s plenty of room for speculation about how involved Brooks, who’ll be 100 by 2027, will be.

Josh Gad, who worked on the movie with Brooks, wrote about how excited he is for the movie to come out on Instagram. “I was that child who saw Spaceballs before I ever saw Star Wars and then wondered why anyone would do a dramatic remake of the Mel Brooks classic,” he wrote. “It is therefore the greatest gift of my life to now help take the reins and work alongside Mel and this incredible group to do a sequel to the movie that first inspired George Lucas.”

The Guardian reports that Josh Greenbaum, who directed Strays and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, is directing the picture. The cast, however, remains unconfirmed. Although John Candy, who played Barf, and Joan Rivers, who voiced the C-3PO-like Dot Matrix, have both died, the principal cast members, including Brooks, Bill Pullman, and Daphne Zuniga, are still alive.

So is Rick Moranis, the movie’s Dark Helmet, who began a hiatus from acting in 1997. He’d previously agreed to appear in Shrunk,a reboot of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in 2020, but that production has yet to materialize. Moranis declined to make a cameo in 2016’s Ghostbusters reboot. He has, however, done voice acting, recorded comedy albums, and made the occasional appearance as one half of his and Dave Thomas’ beloved Bob and Doug McKenzie characters. And he did provide the voice of Lord Dark Helmet for an episode of The Goldbergs.

Although rumors are already swirling online about Moranis’ involvement, nothing is confirmed. In any case, as Brooks’ Yogurt character says, may the Schwartz be with him and everyone involved in Spaceballs 2.