The Schwartz is strong with this one. Daphne Zuniga will reprise her role as Princess Vespa for the upcoming “Spaceballs” sequel, which will be directed by Josh Greenbaum and written by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez and Josh Gad, who will also star. Zuniga will join original “Spaceballs” stars Bill Pullman (returning as Lone Starr), Rick Moranis (as Lord Dark Helmet) and Mel Brooks (as Yogurt), for the long-awaited legacy sequel. It was announced that Keke Palmer would also be joining the cast, with Palmer playing a new character.
Producing the new “Spaceballs” installment are Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Jeb Brody, Brooks, Gad and Greenbaum, with Kevin Salter, Adam Merims, Samit, and Hernandez serving as executive producers.
The original 1987 film spoofed “Star Wars” and a number of other sci-fi classics, including “Aliens,” with Pullman’s Lone Starr standing in for Han Solo, John Candy’s Barf was an even more dog-like Chewbacca surrogate, and Zuniga’s Princess Vespa the Princess Leia clone, only this time with all the arrogance and entitlement of a Beverly Hills brat. (Her robot sidekick, Dot Matrix, was memorably voiced by Joan Rivers.) Brooks’ film, far from simply being a parody, is a celebration of the sci-fi genre and “Star Wars” in particular, and is a classic in its own right, complementing George Lucas’ original work beautifully.
While the title, plot details, and rest of cast are being kept under wraps, the film is being described as “A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film.”
Over the years, there have been comments made by the cast about wanting to do another movie, with Rick Moranis first bringing it up way back in 2013 and Pullman bringing it up more recently (in 2020). Last year it was finally announced as being in the works at Amazon MGM Studios, with Gad commenting on its continued development earlier this year. Now, it finally seems to really be happening, with a cast coalescing and Brooks, now 98, fully on board.
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