Comedy legend Mel Brooks had his scenes for the Spaceballs sequel shot before the rest of the cast, telling the team not to wait because he is 100, and the returning stars say the reunion already feels like a time warp.
Fox News reported that Daphne Zuniga, who returns as Princess Vespa, said Brooks finished his work on “Spaceballs: The New One” ahead of the main shoot after making the call himself.
Zuniga shared the detail during a “Melrose Place” 90s Con panel and described Brooks as a major force on the new film, not a cameo name on a poster.
She told People the comedy giant worked with the writers, shaped the project, and then locked in his own footage early so the production would not have to gamble on later dates.
"We filmed 'Spaceballs: The New One' that Mel Brooks worked with the writers on. He’s a big influence in it. He filmed his part already before we shot."
Zuniga said the request was blunt and practical.
"It was his idea: ‘You better film me now because I’m 100.’ So we did."
The sequel is set to open April 23 of next year, she added. The original “Spaceballs” hit theaters in 1987, when Brooks was 60.
Zuniga said Rick Moranis is back as Lord Dark Helmet and Bill Pullman returns as her on-screen husband. Pullman’s real-life son, Lewis Pullman, plays their son, the prince. Keke Palmer is also in the cast. Zuniga called the shoot “great fun.”
Moranis spoke about slipping back into the role during a San Diego Comic-Con panel. He said looking around at Zuniga, Pullman, George Wyner, and Earl Sanders hit him hard, and so did the younger faces on set.
"Well, I kept having to pinch myself because I would look at Daphne [Zuniga] and Bill [Pullman] and George Wyner. Earl Sanders. And then there were all these young people. And I realized I was their age 39 years ago when we made this. And here we are now, and my kids are the age of this."
He did not pretend the first days felt natural.
"I felt like I was in a time warp, but I was in that outfit and wearing the helmet. And it just felt very strange to be honest with you. But it started to feel really good and I really started to love it."
Brooks has long credited Moranis with wrecking takes on the original film, in the best way. He previously told Fox News Digital that Moranis “cost me a lot of money” because the crew could not stop laughing, starting with the giant-helmet entrance and the line, “I can’t breathe in this thing.” Brooks admitted he often joined the laughter himself.
An earlier New York Post report said Brooks, then listed at 98, confirmed he would return as Yogurt in a Spaceballs sequel aimed at 2027 theaters. The project is with Amazon MGM Studios, directed by Josh Greenbaum, with a script tied to Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Josh Gad, who also stars.
That report listed Bill Pullman returning as Lone Starr, Lewis Pullman as Starburst, and Keke Palmer as Destiny, with Moranis and Zuniga expected back as well. Brooks rolled out the news with a parody Star Wars-style crawl and a simple send-off: “May the Schwartz be with you!” He also needled the whole pitch with, “After 40 years we asked what do the fans want, but instead, we’re making this movie.”
Nearly four decades after the spoof first mocked big-screen space epics, the same core comic voices are back on the clock. Brooks did not wait for a perfect schedule or a soft landing. He told the crew to shoot him now, finished the work, and left the younger cast to catch up.
Hollywood chases youth until a 100-year-old workhorse reminds everyone that craft, timing, and showing up still beat the excuse machine.
