Rick Moranis delighted fans at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, stepping into the spotlight to promote the long-awaited sequel Spaceballs: The New One, his first live-action film appearance in nearly three decades.

The famously low-profile comedy star, returning as Dark Helmet, his beloved parody of Darth Vader, was greeted with a standing ovation as soon as he emerged on the iconic Hall H stage.

After the crowd’s applause finally settled, Moranis sat down with castmates Josh Gad, Keke Palmer, Daphne Zuniga and Lewis Pullman for a panel conversation about the new film and the unlikely path that brought him back to the franchise.

Moranis, 73, whose last live-action movie was 1997’s Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, also addressed his long absence from Hollywood with characteristic wit, joking that he never actually “retired.”

‘I really wasn’t retired. I was just negotiating,’ he said, per Page Six.

In reality, Moranis stepped away from on-camera acting in the mid-1990s to focus on raising his two children following the death of his wife, Ann Belsky, from cancer. He was most recently spotted walking alone in New York City in March.

Though he largely avoided major screen roles during his time away, Moranis never disappeared completely, occasionally lending his voice to projects and releasing comedy music albums.

The iconic star of Ghostbusters (1984) and Little Shop of Horrors (1986) told the Comic-Con crowd that Spaceballs: The New One ‘came along right at the right time,’ and he eagerly agreed to return to the spoof galaxy far, far away after ‘hearing who was going to be in it.’

‘It just felt like this is it. It’s time and – yes. I said yes, and it is the best decision I’ve ever made,’ Moranis said.

Moranis’ participation in the sequel was announced by Amazon MGM Studios in September 2025.

The studio confirmed that Bill Pullman, who played the renegade space pilot Lone Starr, a spoof of Han Solo, will also return to the sequel along with his son, Lewis Pullman, as his character’s son, Prince Starburst.

In Spaceballs: The New One, the evil Dark Helmet returns 40 years later to threaten the galaxy with a lack of original ideas. Prince Starburst, the wayward son of Queen Vespa (Zuniga), and palace advisor Destiny (Palmer) join forces to track down a hidden Lone Starr and Yogurt (Mel Brooks) to stop the galactic takeover.

The original Spaceballs, which was co-written, produced and directed by Brooks, was a modest box office hit when it was released in 1987 but has since become a massive cult classic.

It parodied the first trilogy of Star Wars, which follows Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) as they battle the evil Galactic Empire. 

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Brooks, who turned a milestone 100 years old on June 28, had a hand in writing the new movie with Gad, Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez.

The Hollywood legend returns to voice the role of Yogurt, a parody of the wise Jedi master Yoda in Star Wars.  

Brooks didn’t physically appear at the panel discussion and Q&A but sent a humorous video clip to help kick off the event.

‘I’ve done a lot of things in my career, but not Comic-Con. Maybe that’s because they don’t pay,’ Brooks quipped, per People. 

Bill Pullman, 72, didn’t appear at San Diego Comic-Con, but Lewis, 33, did.