The Schwartz is with Amazon MGM Studios, where a sequel to the 1980s parody film Spaceballs is in early development, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Josh Gad and Mel Brooks are producing the project that has Gad attached to star. Josh Greenbaum is helming the film from a script by Gad, Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez.
Plot details for the sequel have not yet been shared. Kevin Salter will serve as executive producer.
Writing partners Samit and Hernandez are known for their work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: Mutant Mayhem, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Addams Family 2 and the forthcoming Disney+/Lucasfilm special Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy.
The Star Wars spoof Spaceballs starred Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis and Daphne Zuniga, as well as a voice role for Joan Rivers as a C-3P0 parody. The film earned $38.1 million at the box office ($105 million in today’s dollars) and wasn’t exactly a hit with critics, where it earned mixed reviews. (“Science-fiction fans, never known for their sense of humor, will trickle out for an initial peek but, otherwise, box office for this wildly uneven MGM takeoff seems limited to young boys,” read THR’s review.)
But in subsequent years, it has become a cult hit and is considered one of Brooks’ signature films.
Gad teased work on the project earlier this month with a cryptic Instagram post that blocked out certain sections on the script’s cover page.
“Just handed in a film script that I think may be the funniest and best thing I’ve ever worked on and I am so freaking excited,” Gad captioned the post at the time. He added that working with Samit and Hernandez “has been heaven on Earth and many other planets as well. Love you boys!”
The InSneider was first to report the news of the sequel.
