The original Spaceballs from 1987 is a comedy classic—pure Mel Brooks brilliance that still makes fans laugh today. But now, Hollywood is digging up the past again, and this time the results are looking grim. Amazon MGM Studios is moving ahead with a new Spaceballs sequel, set to hit theaters in 2027. Mel Brooks is coming back as Yogurt. Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis will also be part of the returning cast. But even with Brooks involved, this sequel is shaping up to be a box office and critical disaster waiting to happen, particularly with Josh Gad is leading the project. Didn’t anyone else see his History of the World Part 2 on Hulu?
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Josh Greenbaum, known for “Will & Harper,” the documentary about Will Ferrell and his transgender friend is the director, while Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Gad himself are writing the script. No other cast members have been announced yet, and details about the story are being kept secret. The only hint is a confusing word salad logline: “A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film.” Is the joke that Hollywood keeps trying to reboot, remake, or expand franchises that should be left alone?
Read the room, Mr. Brooks.
Mel Brooks is a legend, with an EGOT and a legacy that includes The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World: Part 1, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He earned his place in comedy history. But even legends can’t save terrible ideas. The original Spaceballs was iconic. The movie was a hilarious spoof of sci-fi hits like Star Wars and Alien. Trying to recapture that magic with a new team and a confusing approach is just a recipe for failure.
The new writers, Samit and Hernandez, have credits like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Addams Family 2. They’re also working on a Lego Star Wars project. Josh Gad, who got famous for The Book of Mormon and voicing Olaf in Frozen, and will soon make his own directorial debut on a Chris Farley biopic starring Paul Walter Hauser. Another idea that sounds like a sick joke. None of this instills any confidence in me that a sequel to Spaceballs will be any good.
The producers—Brian Grazer, Jeb Brody, Gad, Brooks, and Greenbaum—may all be considered industry veterans, but the idea of a Spaceballs sequel in 2027 feels like a really bad dad joke at this point. The original was lightning in a bottle, and trying to bottle it again almost never works. Fans of the classic should be worried—this is one sequel that the world does not need.
I don’t expect the magic of Mel Brooks to save this doomed mission, even if he possesses the power of the Schwartz™. Hope the paycheck is worth it guys.
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