The actor’s last live-action movie performance came in 1997’s direct-to-video sequel “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.”

Rick Moranis appears on the big screen for the first time in 30 years in Spaceballs 2 footage

The actor's last live-action movie performance came in 1997's direct-to-video sequel "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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April 16, 2026 1:11 a.m. ET

Rick Moranis in 'Spaceballs'. Credit:

MGM/courtesy Everett Collection

- Rick Moranis appeared as Dark Helmet in *Spaceballs 2* footage that screened at CinemaCon 2026.

- *Spaceballs 2* marks Moranis' first live-action performance in a movie in 30 years.

- Moranis appeared at CinemaCon alongside *Spaceballs* costars Bill Pullman and Daphne Zuniga to promote the upcoming sequel.

Rick Moranis is back.

The *Honey, I Shrunk the Kids* actor appeared on stage during Amazon MGM's CinemaCon presentation on Wednesday to promote *Spaceballs 2*, the long-awaited sequel to Mel Brooks' 1987 sci-fi parody.

Moranis is reprising his role as Dark Helmet, marking his first live-action performance in a movie since 1997's *Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves*.

Dark Helmet's face is covered by his mask for most of the rapid-fire trailer for the film, but in a key scene at the end, Moranis stands at a urinal, and a massive Na'vi from *Avatar *arrives at a much-taller urinal right next to him.

Flabbergasted, Moranis says, "I see you" in the Na'vi language — a reference to the repeated mantra throughout James Cameron's sci-fi saga — and puts on 3D glasses as he gazes at the alien's groin.

In a pre-recorded video, Brooks also revealed the official title: *Spaceballs: The New One*.

Lewis Pullman and Bill Pullman in Los Angeles on Dec. 14, 2025.

Michael Buckner/Getty

Moranis was joined on stage by his original *Spaceballs* costars Bill Pullman and Daphne Zuniga, as well as new *Spaceballs 2* cast members Lewis Pullman (the son of Bill) and Josh Gad. Gad also co-wrote and produced the project, alongside Brian Grazer, Brooks, and director Josh Greenbaum, who joined the cast at the presentation.

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The *Ghostbusters* actor's last live-action theatrical film role came in 1996's *Big Bully*. He also lent his voice to Disney's 2003 animated movie *Brother Bear* and its 2006 direct-to-video sequel. He also briefly reprised his *SCTV* character, Bob McKenzie, for the 2007 one-off TV special *Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary*. He voiced Dark Helmet in a dream sequence in a 2018 episode of *The Goldbergs* and appeared in a 2020 Mint Mobile commercial opposite Ryan Reynolds.

Mel Brooks in 'Spaceballs'. Everett Collection

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Moranis stepped back from screen acting after his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, died from breast cancer in 1991. "I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people," he told *THR* in 2015. "I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful."

*Spaceballs 2* hits theaters on April 23, 2027.

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Source: “EW Comedy”