Summary

• A Spaceballs sequel is in the works at Amazon MGM Studios with Josh Gad to star, directed by Josh Greenbaum and produced by Mel Brooks.
• The original 1987 comedy film directed by Brooks parodied Star Wars and other sci-fi classics, with Brooks playing multiple roles.
• The sequel will be based on a screenplay by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Gad, continuing the comedic legacy of Spaceballs.

A Spaceballs sequel is in development at Amazon MGM Studios. The 1987 comedy film directed by Mel Brooks parodied Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, and other science-fiction classics. Brooks played multiple roles in Spaceballs, including Yogurt and President Skroob. It also starred Bill Pullman as Lone Starr, John Candy as Barf, Daphne Zuniga as Princess Vespa, Rick Moranis as Lord Dark Helmet, and Joan Rivers as the voice of Dot Matrix.

According to Variety, Josh Gad will star in Spaceballs 2, which will be produced by Brooks. It will be directed by Josh Greenbaum and based on a screenplay written by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Gad. No plot details have been revealed yet, leaving it currently unclear who Gad is playing, and whether the project will be a direct continuation of the events and characters in Spaceballs, or if it will be more of a spiritual sequel parodying more recent science-fiction films and franchises.

Spaceballs 2 Will Face An Uphill Battle

The Sequel Won't Be Able To Assemble The Whole Original Cast

Even with Brooks involved as a producer, Spaceballs 2 will have a difficult time recapturing the magic of the original film's delightful and absurd comedy. With Candy ing away in 1994, Rivers ing away in 2014, and Moranis retiring from acting in live-action movies in 1997, the sequel is already at a disadvantage with the absences of the lovable Barf, the distinctive voice of Dot Matrix, and the blundering Dark Helmet. Pullman and Zuniga are still acting, but it wouldn't feel right to have only Lone Starr and Princess Vespa back without the others, especially without Barf.

Brooks is still actively working, and it is promising that he will be a producer. Nevertheless, without his signature direction, it may not feel like a true Spaceballs sequel, with the first film being the epitome of Brooks' comedic trademarks and irreverent tone that, like Spaceballs, still holds up today. Brooks was involved in Spaceballs: The Animated Series, which released in 2008, but the project received little attention and didn't resonate the way the 1987 film did, partly because of lackluster animation, along with making significant changes to the story from the original film.

Spaceballs features a joke about Lone Starr and his friends meeting Yogurt again in a future sequel called Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money.

37 years after Spaceballs was released, the sequel will naturally be met with skepticism. One benefit it does have is the abundance of science-fiction films and franchises that have been released since 1987. The Star Wars, Star Trek, and Alien franchises have debuted numerous films or television series since then, providing plenty of recent and ongoing material for Spaceballs 2 to parody, along with newer franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Monsterverse. Without much or any of the original cast, though, it will be difficult for the sequel to live up to its predecessor's legacy.

Source: Variety