Rick Moranis met with standing ovation at 'Spaceballs' sequel Comic-Con
panel
[July 25, 2026]
By LESLIE AMBRIZ
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rick Moranis says he finally has an answer for all of
the times that “Spaceballs” fans have stopped him to ask, “When are you
guys going to finally make a sequel to that thing?”
Fans at Comic-Con International were ecstatic with his response Friday.
A crowd at the expo's massive Hall H stood to cheer and applaud as the
73-year-old actor — long absent from Hollywood — joined a panel to
promote his return as Dark Helmet in “Spaceballs: The New One," the
long-awaited sequel to the 1987 cult classic.
When his name was first announced, Moranis hid in the crowd under his
character's extra large helmet as soldiers from the film used an
oversized comb to search for the actor.
“This came along at the right time,” said Moranis of the film, set for
release next April. “It just felt like this is it. … It is the best
decision I ever made. It’s like family to me.”
Moranis and Daphne Zuniga were joined on stage by director Josh
Greenbaum, writer and actor Josh Gad, writers Dan Hernandez and Benji
Samit, along with new cast members Keke Palmer and Lewis Pullman.
Pullman and Palmer’s character descriptions have not been revealed.
“It was so funny that I kept being like, ‘Oh my God! Can you believe
they said that?’” said Palmer about first reading the script.
Pullman says he was hesitant to join the film having grown up with it
and watching his father Bill Pullman’s performance as Lone Starr.
“I read it and I was like, 'Damn it. This is so good. … This is one of
the funniest scripts I’ve ever read.' I rarely laugh out loud when I’m
reading scripts," Pullman said. "I would be a fool. It would be weird if
I didn’t do it.”
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Rick Moranis attends a panel for "Spaceballs: The New One" during
Comic-Con International on Friday, July 24, 2026, in San Diego.
(Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
 Mel Brooks and Bill Pullman were not
in attendance but greeted fans via prerecorded video.
Fans were shown behind-the-scenes footage of Brooks recording lines
inside a vocal booth and reuniting with Bill Pullman and Zuniga, and
a sneak peak at a teaser trailer.
Gad confirmed to fans that he was playing a mawg, but not John
Candy’s character from the original, Barf. Gad said the new film
would honor Candy and other original cast members who have since
died, including Joan Rivers, Dom DeLuise and Dick Van Patten.
The team poked fun at the “cinematic universe” film timelines
popularized by Marvel Studios with a parody displayed across Hall
H's wrap-around screens showcasing imagined sequels in more than 11
phases of “The Almighty Schwartz Saga."
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