Latest news with #Spaceballs'
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bill Pullman & Rick Moranis Returning For New ‘Spaceballs'; Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman Also Set
EXCLUSIVE, updated with new, nonexclusive details: Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis are set to reprise their respective roles as Lone Starr and Dark Helmet in the new Spaceballs movie from Amazon MGM Studios, with Keke Palmer (One of Them Days) joining the cast, sources tell Deadline. Amazon declined to comment, and character details for Palmer are under wraps, as is the sequel's plot. Also newly aboard in an undisclosed role is Pullman's son, rising star Lewis Pullman (Thunderbolts*), as THR was first to report this afternoon. More from Deadline Use The Schwartz!: 'Spaceballs' Movie Photos & Posters Josh Gad Teases 'Spaceballs' Sequel Script: 'Everybody Who's Read It Has Been Blown Away' Darren Aronofsky Circling A24 Film 'Breakthrough' Co-Starring Dwayne Johnson-The Dish The addition of Moranis, though is particularly striking, as the actor hasn't been seen much on screen for decades. As announced this morning, the original film's director and star, Mel Brooks, will also feature in the cast once again, reprising his role as Yogurt. Slated for release in theaters in 2027, the film has been described by those who have not yet read the script as 'A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film.' Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) will direct from a script by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Josh Gad, as announced in June of last year. Gad is also expected to star and will produce alongside Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Jeb Brody, Brooks, and Greenbaum, with Kevin Salter, Adam Merims, Samit, and Hernandez exec producing. Released by MGM in 1987, the original Spaceballs is an iconic send-up of the sci-fi genre, which took inspiration from the Star Wars franchise and other classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey. The plot revolves around the evil Dark Helmet (Moranis) and President Skroob (Brooks), who attempt to steal the atmosphere of the peaceful planet Druidia, only to be thwarted by the hero Lone Starr (Pullman), his sidekick Barf (John Candy), and the Druish princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga). Others in the cast included Joan Rivers and Dick Van Patten. The film grossed just over $38.1 worldwide but has endured over the years as a cult classic. Otherwise best known for turns in iconic works like Independence Day and David Lynch's Lost Highway, Pullman has most recently been seen starring in series like The Sinner, as well as films including The High Note and Dark Waters. Upcoming, he has the Duffer Brothers' Netflix series The Boroughs, A24's Famous opposite Zac Efron, and more. An icon of the '80s and '90s, Moranis rose to fame with roles in Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids films and more, after writing and starring in famed Canadian sketch series SCTV. Famously, he for the most part stepped away from acting in the late '90s, focusing on raising his children following the passing of his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky. Most recently, he teamed with Ryan Reynolds on a 2020 ad for Mint Mobile. Palmer is coming off of success with One of Them Days, a TriStar buddy comedy where she stars opposite SZA, which recently got a sequel set up for development. Next up, she'll be seen in The Pickup, Amazon's heist comedy out August 6, opposite Eddie Murphy; Aziz Ansari's Lionsgate comedy Good Fortune, out October 17; and Boots Riley's Neon pic I Love Boosters. Pullman is repped by CAA; Moranis by Bailey Brand Management and Nelson Davis; and Palmer by 3 Arts and Hertz Lichtenstein. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mel Brooks To Reprise As Yogurt In Amazon MGM's New ‘Spaceballs' Movie
Mel Brooks is set to reprise his role as Yogurt in Amazon MGM Studios' new Spaceballs movie, the studio announced today. Brooks, who directed and starred in the original film, had already been set to produce. Parodying Star Wars' Jedi Master Yoda, his character Yogurt is an alien who in the original served as a mentor to protagonist Lone Starr (Bill Pullman). Described by those who have not yet read the script as 'A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film,' the sequel will be released in theaters in 2027. More from Deadline Josh Gad Had To Catch Mel Brooks Up On 'Star Wars' Franchise During 'Spaceballs' Sequel Pitch Josh Gad Teases 'Spaceballs' Sequel Script: 'Everybody Who's Read It Has Been Blown Away' Bill Pullman & Rick Moranis Returning For New 'Spaceballs'; Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman Also Set - The Dish Plot details are being kept under wraps. Josh Greenbaum will direct from a script by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Josh Gad, as announced in June of last year. Gad is also expected to star and will produce alongside Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Jeb Brody, Brooks, and Greenbaum, with Kevin Salter, Adam Merims, Samit, and Hernandez exec producing. Released by MGM in 1987, Spaceballs is an iconic send-up of the sci-fi genre, which took inspiration from the Star Wars franchise and other classics. The plot revolves around the evil Dark Helmet (Moranis) and President Skroob (Brooks), who attempt to steal the atmosphere of the peaceful planet Druidia, only to be thwarted by the hero Lone Starr (Pullman), his sidekick Barf (John Candy), and the Druish princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga). Others in the cast included Joan Rivers and Dick Van Patten. The film grossed just over $38.1 worldwide but has endured over the years as a cult classic. The comedic icon behind such additional classics as The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, Brooks won an Oscar for his script to The Producers, receiving an additional Honorary Oscar in 2024. Over the years, he's also been recognized with a BAFTA fellowship, the AFI's Life Achievement Award, four Emmys, four Golden Globe nominations, three Grammys, multiple WGA Awards (including the Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement), and myriad other accolades. Most recently, he wrote on, exec produced and narrated Hulu's History of the World, Part II, a series sequel to his film History of the World, Part I from 1981. He also played himself in an episode of Only Murders in the Building and is repped by CAA and attorney Jay L. Cooper. Best of Deadline 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More Men of Steel: Every Actor Who Has Played Superman - Photo Gallery 'Michael' Cast: Who's Who In The Michael Jackson Biopic
Los Angeles Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Spaceballs 2' is coming! Wait, what was so cool about the original ‘Spaceballs'?
'Spaceballs 2' is incoming, director Mel Brooks confirmed Thursday on social media, 38 years after the original 'Spaceballs' crashed onto the space-opera scene. Hey, what's a few decades between friends, amirite? Given that three-quarters of the current moviegoing audience was not even born 38 years ago, a person might wonder why they should care about a 'Spaceballs' sequel. Well! We. Have. Answers. The sequel will have a director and that director is not Brooks, perhaps because Brooks is 98 years old. Plus the jokester hasn't directed a movie since 1995's 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It.' But Brooks was, indeed, the auteur behind 'The Producers,' 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Young Frankenstein,' so he might make it in Hollywood someday. Tell the folks at CAA: 'Spaceballs 2' could be the boost his resume needs. The news so far, according to Variety, is this: Brooks will be back as Yogurt — just plain Yogurt — and Josh Gad will star. Perhaps he'll star as Outerspace Olaf, a mercenary snowman who likes warm hugs and thinks a space princess is a person worth melting for. Gad, Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez are writing the script, and Josh Greenbaum ('Barb and Starr Go to Vista Del Mar') will direct. Please don't argue. It's a known fact that Everybody loves Bill Pullman. The 'Spaceballs 2' team loves Bill Pullman so much that, according to Variety, in addition to inviting him to reprise his character from the original comedy, they have also cast his son Lewis Pullman in a role to be named later. Let's hope the elder Pullman's Lone Starr has eased into retirement and Pullman the Younger gets to play a younger version of the Luke Skywalker-scented hero. Exactly! There's still room to improve! ''Spaceballs' might have been much funnier and more inventive on a much smaller budget,' The Times said in its 1987 review of the movie. 'Occasionally the expense pays off, as in the wonderful opening shot of an insanely elaborate starship that sweeps over us against inky infinity, going on and on ... and on and on! But sometimes the elaborate jokes just clang and clunk, as when Lone Starr jams the Spaceballs radar with real jam — and no peanut butter.' That sounds like an argument for half the budget, double the jokes and a variety of Uncrustables at the craft services table. The year 2027 is so close, yet sounds so far, far away. It also will mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the original 'Star Wars' movie, which was once known simply as 'Star Wars,' not 'Star Wars: Episode 4 — A New Hope.' As the glorious celebrations of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Yoda, Obi-Wan and the gang ring out in Hollywood in 2027, 'Spaceballs 2' should land next to them with a resounding fart. A resounding fart joke, at least. Maybe two. Sure, Rick Moranis will be back for 'Spaceballs 2,' per Deadline, reprising the role of Dark Helmet, the villain whose voice resonates and booms when his helmet is down and turns squeaky and annoying when the mask is raised. And Keke Palmer, who was born in 1993, will reportedly have a part as well, though no clues have been given as to who or what she'll play. Just don't have Palmer play Jar Jar Binks' father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate, please, because Dark Helmet already spent that punch line on Lone Starr back in 1987. Jar Jar was, of course, the duck-billed breakout star, sorta, of 1999's 'Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.' Don't click that link, just take our word for it. That said, you know there just has to be a Jar Jar Binks gag or two in 'Spaceballs 2.' Read aloud with me now: Mesa no tink so, you say? Ex-squeeze me, but yousa be wrong. Terrible tings goen happen if Jar Jar remains nothing more than the most annoying and unnecessary CGI character ever to please George Lucas. Give the Gungan some gas to go with that pidgin English and anything could happen. In our post-#MeToo landscape, rife with 'you can't say that' sensibilities, some 'Spaceballs'-style gags might fall flat. Then again, as The Times said in its 1987 review of the original film, 'This is a multimillion-dollar extravaganza satirizing other multimillion-dollar extravaganzas — which begins to seem a bit like attacking a President by hitting him over the head with another President.' Given that in the occasionally dystopian 2020s, hitting presidents over the head with other presidents is no big deal, the new film might make perfect sense, even if it doesn't improve one bit. Then again, will Yiddish gags play to the keffiyeh-clad youngs? Or will the jokes simply bomb? Only 'Spaceballs 2' will tell.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WGA East Seals Tentative Deal With Vox Media Management, Narrowly Avoiding Strike
The Writers Guild of America East narrowly avoided a strike against Vox Media, announcing a tentative new three-year deal with management in the early hours of Friday morning. The current contract was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, and the union had already authorized a strike a few hours prior. More from Deadline SAG-AFTRA Suspends Video Game Strike After Securing Tentative Deal With Major Developers WGA East & FilmNation Reveal 2025 New York Screenwriting Fellowship Participants SAG-AFTRA Inks Tentative New Deal With Major Video Game Developers That Includes "Necessary A.I. Guardrails" Now, the deal needs approval from the WGAE Council's Online Media sector representatives as well as the 250-member Vox Media Union. The union says that details on the contract will be released upon ratification. AI, increased wages and benefits, and additional severance and layoff procedures were among the priorities during this bargaining cycle. There have been multiple rounds of layoffs at Vox Media recently, including in January when the company let go of around 7% of its workforce. The news of this deal comes just over a month after Vox Media sold video game website Polygon to Valnet, which currently owns several entertainment-related aggregation sites including Screen Rant, Game Rant, and Comic Book Resources. That movie also reportedly resulted in mass layoffs at the site, prompting an outcry from the union. 'It is hard to fathom management's commitment to its workers and its readers when this marks the fifth round of layoffs in just the last six months,' the WGAE statement said at the time. The Vox Media Union represents workers across The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, Pop Sugar, Thrillist, Vox Media Podcast Network and The Dodo. Deadline parent company Penske Media Corporation has a stake in Vox Media. Best of Deadline Use The Schwartz!: 'Spaceballs' Movie Photos & Posters 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WGA East Seals Tentative Deal With Vox Media Management, Narrowly Avoiding Strike
The Writers Guild of America East narrowly avoided a strike against Vox Media, announcing a tentative new three-year deal with management in the early hours of Friday morning. The current contract was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, and the union had already authorized a strike a few hours prior. More from Deadline SAG-AFTRA Suspends Video Game Strike After Securing Tentative Deal With Major Developers WGA East & FilmNation Reveal 2025 New York Screenwriting Fellowship Participants SAG-AFTRA Inks Tentative New Deal With Major Video Game Developers That Includes "Necessary A.I. Guardrails" Now, the deal needs approval from the WGAE Council's Online Media sector representatives as well as the 250-member Vox Media Union. The union says that details on the contract will be released upon ratification. AI, increased wages and benefits, and additional severance and layoff procedures were among the priorities during this bargaining cycle. There have been multiple rounds of layoffs at Vox Media recently, including in January when the company let go of around 7% of its workforce. The news of this deal comes just over a month after Vox Media sold video game website Polygon to Valnet, which currently owns several entertainment-related aggregation sites including Screen Rant, Game Rant, and Comic Book Resources. That movie also reportedly resulted in mass layoffs at the site, prompting an outcry from the union. 'It is hard to fathom management's commitment to its workers and its readers when this marks the fifth round of layoffs in just the last six months,' the WGAE statement said at the time. The Vox Media Union represents workers across The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, Pop Sugar, Thrillist, Vox Media Podcast Network and The Dodo. Deadline parent company Penske Media Corporation has a stake in Vox Media. Best of Deadline Use The Schwartz!: 'Spaceballs' Movie Photos & Posters 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
