Entertainment
Sci-Fi Fans Will Need to Pause Every Second of The Upcoming ‘Spaceballs’ Sequel [Exclusive]
Mel Brooks‘ new science fiction spoof, Spaceballs: The New One, is reuniting its old cast members and adding some new stars, including Lewis Pullman. While Pullman is enjoying working with his father, Bill Pullman, who starred as the roguish space bandit Lone Starr in the original, he’s heaping praise on every aspect of the production, including the decades-in-the-making return of a cinematic comedy icon. He discussed the film with Collider’s Steve Weintraub while promoting his new Netflix film, Remarkably Bright Creatures, which debuts on the streamer this week.
Pullman was especially impressed by the return of Rick Moranis, who is returning from a multi-decade hiatus from the big screen to play arch-villain Dark Helmet. According to Pullman, the SCTV star hadn’t missed a step. “I think just hearing him do the Dark Helmet voice, and him just slipping back into it so, so seamlessly. It was just a mind-boggling moment because that voice lives in my brain free of rent,” said Pullman. “Just hearing him find it again — he didn’t even have to find it; it was just right there — was just a dream come true.”
Pullman also lavished praise on the script, which was penned by longtime Spaceballs fans Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, and Josh Gad; Gad also stars in the film. And while the original film was largely a Star Wars spoof (with some nods to Star Trek, Alien, and Planet of the Apes), Pullman says The New One goes above and beyond:
“The writers, Dan, Benji, and Josh, really took advantage of the whole concept in the best way possible. So many times, I think being a fan of something can really help invigorate it. I think them working with Mel to keep what we love so much about Spaceballs, and then also just expound on it and expand on it… Anyone who’s a fan of anything will probably get a reference in there at some point.”
The gags aren’t limited to the script, either: Pullman also found that the production designers had crammed so many gags into a spaceship console that he’s hopeful the film will be “a freeze frame fest of people freeze framing this movie and zooming in and seeing the detail that went into this.” However, he can’t tease what the movie’s marketing team will do to top the Dune 2 sandworm popcorn bucket, but he “can’t wait to see.” And as far as working with his father goes, Pullman compared and contrasted it with the G-forces he was subjected to while filming Top Gun: Maverick. He told Collider, “One was kind of mind-melting, and the other was body-melting, and both were challenging in their own ways. Both were very exciting and exhilarating in their own ways.” Spaceballs: The New One also stars Daphne Zuniga, Keke Palmer, Anthony Carrigan, and George Wyner; it is directed by Josh Greenbaum. It will invade theaters on April 23, 2027.
Based on the best-selling 2022 novel of the same name by Shelby Van Pelt, Remarkably Bright Creatures centers around Tova (Sally Field), a lonely widow who works as a nighttime caretaker at the local aquarium. There, she makes a pair of new friends: Cameron (Pullman), a luckless young man who also works for the aquarium, and Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina), a giant Pacific octopus who lives there. Directed by Olivia Newman (Where the Crawdads Sing), it also stars Colm Meaney, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-D’Elia, and Laura Harris. It will premiere on Netflix on May 8.
Next up for Pullman is Avengers: Doomsday, in which he’ll reprise the dual role of Bob and the Sentry from last year’s Thunderbolts. On the horizon are Wishful Thinking, a science fiction rom-com that pairs him with Maya Hawke, and Baton, a sports drama with Camila Mendes and Danny Ramirez (who also directs).
Spaceballs: The New One will be released on April 23, 2027. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
- Release Date
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April 23, 2027
- Writers
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Dan Hernandez, Josh Gad, Benji Samit
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