May the Schwartz be with you! After IndieWire reported last June that a “Spaceballs” sequel was in the works, Amazon MGM has officially announced the follow-up to the 1987 “Star Wars” spoof film directed by Mel Brooks, as well as revealed that Brooks himself will be back to star.
The 98-year-old Brooks will star in the sequel to “Spaceballs,” reprising his role as Yoda…erm, Yogurt. Brooks also shared the news in a post on X, with a video message saying they asked “what do the fans want?”
“But instead, we’re making this movie,” Brooks joked. The video also had a “Star Wars” title crawl teasing all of the endless sequels and franchises that have come out in the nearly 40 years since “Spaceballs” first was released.
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And it will be 40 years by the time “Spaceballs 2” is released, with Amazon MGM planning to release the film in theaters in 2027. Amazon MGM has said it wants to have as many as 17 movies per year released theatrically by that time.
Josh Greenbaum (“Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar”) is directing the film from a script by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Josh Gad. Plot details are being kept under wraps. The title and rest of the cast are also being kept under wraps for now, but the film is being described as “A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film.” We like the ring of that better than “Legacyquel.”
Producers for the “Spaceballs” sequel include Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Jeb Brody, Mel Brooks, Josh Gad, and Josh Greenbaum. Kevin Salter, Adam Merims, Benji Samit, and Dan Hernandez will executive produce.
Brooks in “Spaceballs” played two roles, both Yogurt and President Skroob, but for now it looks like he’ll only don the makeup for the one part. Brooks hasn’t been on screen much given his age, but he was in a recent season of “Only Murders in the Building,” and he was the narrator for “History of the World: Part II,” the Hulu series sequel to his anthology film.
We don’t expect to see too many other returning cast members for the sequel. The late John Candy starred as the Chewbacca parody Barf, and Rick Moranis, who has largely been retired, starred as the Darth Vader parody Dark Helmet. Bill Pullman also starred as the hero Lone Starr. “Spaceballs” made $38 million worldwide but is considered one of Brooks’ classics.
