By: Ashton Newton
Staff Writer

It doesn’t take much to notice that, right now, Star Wars is on fire. The franchise has had an extremely successful past six months and shows no signs of slowing down.

Right now is the perfect time for Mel Brook’s “Spaceballs” sequel, “Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money.”

The sequel was first officially mentioned when the original film came out in 1987 as a joke, but Brooks has recently confirmed on “The Nerdist” podcast; yes, it’s happening.

Brooks wants to bring back as much of the original cast as possible. Unfortunately Joan Rivers, Dick Van Patten, and John Candy have all passed away.

Brooks said in a 2014 interview that he would never do a “Spaceballs” sequel without Rick Moranis. Moranis hasn’t been active since 1997 and has yet to comment on the rumors. Moranis recently turned down a cameo in the “Ghostbusters” reboot.

The original “Spaceballs” was released in 1987, four years after “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” and quickly became a beloved member of the parody family. IMDB has the movie ranked at the seventh best parody movie of all time, with the list topped by “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Airplane!”

“Spaceballs” received a reboot in 2005 when Brooks directed a 13 episode animated series following the release of the “Star Wars” prequels. The series saw the return of Daphne Zuniga and Joan Rivers, but no other original cast members.

You can find the animated series on YouTube with all of its “Star Wars” parody fun. The first episode “Revenge of the Sithee” even features a character very similar to Darth Maul.

Not much has been confirmed regarding “Spaceballs 2,” but Brooks told “The Nerdist” that the film is in early stages of development and that he hopes to start shooting early this year.