Spaceballs 2 Teaser is Funny But Still Worrying
Yogurt is back, and he’s bringing strawberries with him. A year ago, scooper Jeff Sneider revealed that a Spaceballs sequel was being developed, which co-writer Josh Gad confirmed. Today, Amazon MGM Studios released a teaser for Spaceballs 2 featuring a new opening crawl and some words from Mel Brooks, the writer and director of the original Spaceballs, who is producing and starring in the sequel. There’s no word yet on what Spaceballs 2 will be about (although they’re shooting themselves in the foot if they don’t call it Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, which was teased in the original), but the crawl in the teaser talks about how many post-trilogy Star Wars projects have been made in the intervening years, suggesting that it will take aim at everything that came after the first three legendary films. Most of the surviving Spaceballs cast is set to return for Spaceballs 2, including Brooks as Yogurt, Bill Pullman as Lone Starr, Daphne Zuniga as Princess Vespa, and perhaps most surprisingly, the long-retired Rick Moranis as the villainous Dark Helmet. They’ll be joined by Bill Pullman’s son, Lewis Pullman, who played Sentry in Thunderbolts* and will almost certainly be playing Lone Starr and Princess Vespa’s son in Spaceballs 2, as well as Keke Palmer; Josh Gad is expected to appear in the film as well. Spaceballs 2 will arrive in theaters sometime in 2027, and you can see the teaser below:
I have to say, the Spaceballs 2 teaser made me laugh. The crawl was funny, listing the many Star Wars movies and dipping into other franchises to show how creatively bankrupt Hollywood is now. I’m glad they’re focusing on mocking the industry instead of the fans, which is what I expected the movie to do – and it still could happen. And while Spaceballs was primarily a Star Wars parody, it had jokes about other sci-fi movies, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, and Planet of the Apes, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the sequel took a few shots at the MCU, Avatar, and other films mentioned in the crawl. If Spaceballs 2 mocks the Star Wars franchise and the neverending cascade of sequels and prequels, it could turn out to be something special, a champion for disgruntled fans who hate what their favorite properties have become. (This would be a departure from Spaceballs, which was a loving tribute to Star Wars in comedy form, but those movies were universally loved; we’re in a new reality this time.) I mean, since Mel Brooks will be acting in the film, how can they pass up bringing him back as President Skroob, the stand-in for the Emperor, and having someone say, “Somehow, Skroob returned”? Star Wars has become such a parody of itself that the jokes for this movie almost write themselves.
But, of course, that’s just a saying; the jokes have to be written, and Mel Brooks isn’t writing them this time, nor is he directing the film. Josh Gad, Benji Samit, and Dan Hernandez are scripting Spaceballs 2, and Josh Greenbaum is directing it, and I have zero faith in this crew. I get that Mel Brooks is 99 years old, so he probably either doesn’t have it in him to craft an entire movie anymore, or he’d just rather not, but he’s the type of comic genius you can’t recreate. There are other problems with bringing back Spaceballs, the biggest one being that it’s the anti-art woke era, where anything even approaching funny has been deemed offensive. I don’t want a neutered parody, especially when there’s more than enough reason to go for Star Wars’ jugular now. And there are also the two actors who are no longer with us, John Candy and Joan Rivers, who played Barf the mawg (Chewbacca’s analog) and Dot Matrix (the stand-in for C-3PO). You can maybe get away with excluding Dot, but Barf was one of the main characters, and he had the John Candy everyman feel to him that made him the audience surrogate in many scenes. (“Always when I’m eating!”) I have a sneaking suspicion that Josh Gad will be playing either Barf or his replacement – his son or something – and if that happens, all previous “Name a bigger downgrade; I’ll wait” memes will be rendered null and void. John Candy is irreplaceable, and Spaceballs 2 will inevitably be lesser for his absence, if not an outright mistake. I think the best hope for Spaceballs 2 is that it encourages the younger generation to seek out the original and laugh at a classic.
Let us know what you think of the Spaceballs 2 teaser in the comments!
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