Rick Moranis, 72, Looks Different Now

Rick Moranis hasn’t been seen on screen in a theatrical feature film in nearly three decades.

So it was quite the shock for fans of the 72-year-old actor and comedian when it was announced last week that he will be making his long-awaited return to movies.

Director Mel Brooks, 99, was in fine spirits as he shared the news that Moranis would be back in action for a sequel to his sci-fi parody Spaceballs (1987).

The Canadian comedy legend appeared in the original film — which was beset by middling reviews before being adopted as a cult classic — as Dark Helmet, a parody of Star Wars’ Darth Vader.

Since his comedy heyday in films of the 1980s and ’90s, Moranis has been on a decades-long Hollywood hiatus to allow him to focus on raising his children as a single parent.

Now, nearly 30 years after he stepped back from the silver screen, DailyMail.com takes a look at what Moranis looks like today.

Rick Moranis hasn’t been seen on screen in a theatrical feature film in nearly three decades. So it was quite the shock for fans of the 72-year-old actor and comedian when Mel Brooks announced last week that he will return to play Dark Helmet in a sequel to Spaceballs (1987)

It will a return to films for the Little Shop Of Horrors (pictured) star after nearly three decades on hiatus. Following news of his return, DailyMail.com takes a look at what Moranis looks like today…

The comic star was nearly unrecognizable when he was spotted this week on a busy day running errands in New York City.

Moranis was on the move in a casual but sporty outfit with a pale yellow ribbed polo shirt, blue athletic shorts and a white baseball cap.

He stuck with simple black trainers and carried a reusable back to take care of some shopping while he was out. 

The actor has stayed impressively trim over the last few decades, but his appearance was considerably different after losing the baby-faced looks that helped him get laughs early on.

Moranis soundtracked his walk with earbuds, and he was seen marching back with two full bags after finishing his shopping.

The Ghostbusters star’s gradual retreat from Hollywood began following the tragic death of his wife Ann Belsky in 1991 after a battle with cancer.

In a 2005 interview with USA Today, Moranis clarified that his family was his main motivation for holding off on more time-consuming film shoots.

‘I’m a single parent and I just found that it was too difficult to manage to raise my kids and to do the traveling involved in making movies. So I took a little bit of a break,’ he explained. ‘And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn’t miss it.’

Moranis looked unrecognizable when he was spotted out running errands in New York City earlier this week

He was on the move in a casual but sporty outfit with a pale yellow ribbed polo shirt, blue athletic shorts and a white baseball cap

The actor has stayed impressively trim over the last few decades, but his appearance was considerably different after losing the baby-faced looks that helped him get laughs early on

Moranis made the decision to focus on being a single father after losing is wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, to breast cancer in February 1991; pictured together at the 1990 Academy Awards 

Moranis said in 2005 that he stepped back from Hollywood to focus on raising his two children as a single parent

Moranis’ final on-screen appearance in a theatrical feature was for the 1996 comedy Big Bully, which he starred in opposite Tom Arnold. 

However, the following year he played a lead role in the straight-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves. 

Moranis was more willing to focus on voice acting in subsequent years, as recording sessions take far less time than on-camera appearances. 

He voiced characters in multiple children’s cartoons, as well as his final theatrical film, the 2003 Disney animated feature Brother Bear.

He continued with voice acting throughout the 2000s, and he made a rare live-action return for the TV Movie Bob & Doug McKenzie’s Two-Four Anniversary, a sequel to the 1983 cult classic comedy film Strange Brew that costarred Canadian comedy legend Dave Thomas.

Aside from that, Moranis’ only roles in recent years were a brief voice appearance as his Spaceballs character Dark Helmet in a 2018 episode of The Goldbergs and a 2020 Mint Mobile commercial that he starred in with Ryan Reynolds.

Despite mostly eschewing the spotlight, Moranis has clarified that he doesn’t consider himself officially retired.

After it was reported that he turned down a cameo offer in the woman-led 2016 version of Ghostbusters — which original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver all appeared in — Moranis explained prior to the film’s release that he has only been on a ‘hiatus,’ and now that his children — Rachel and Mitchell — are grown up he is no longer opposed to acting.

Moranis’ final on-screen appearance in a theatrical feature was for the 1996 comedy Big Bully, which he starred in opposite Tom Arnold

However, the following year he played a lead role in the straight-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves

Moranis was more willing to focus on voice acting in subsequent years, as recording sessions take far less time than on-camera appearances

Moranis’ only roles in recent years were a brief voice appearance as his Spaceballs character Dark Helmet in a 2018 episode of The Goldbergs and a 2020 Mint Mobile commercial that he starred in with Ryan Reynolds

In 2015, he clarified that he didn’t consider himself retired, but rather on hiatus, after he turned down a cameo in the 2016 woman-led Ghostbusters sequel

Moranis said he’s now more selective, and Spaceballs 2 will be his first on-camera theatrical feature since 1996, though he continued to do voice acting for years afterward

He was originally set to return to screens in 2020 with the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (pictured) sequel Shrunk, but it was delayed indefinitely in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic

He told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that he was simply much more selective about what roles he was willing to take on this far into his career. 

‘I took a break, which turned into a longer break,’ he said. ‘But I’m interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role and as soon as one comes along that piques my interest.’

‘I wish them well,’ he added. ‘I hope it’s terrific. But it just makes no sense to me. Why would I do just one day of shooting on something I did 30 years ago?’ 

The film would have been a legacy sequel starring Josh Gad as the son of Moranis’ reckless inventor, with the older star reprising his original role. 

However, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the production to be put on hold. Gad shared his desire to push forward with the project in subsequent years, and he said he had been collaborating with Moranis on the film as recently as 2022. 

However, Gad admitted in 2023 that the sequel is now dead in the water, though it could potentially be revived at a future date. 

Despite Shrunk’s misfortune, Moranis will still be making his long-awaited return to movies with the Spaceballs sequel, which is slated for a 2027 release. 

The returning stars include Brooks, who will be playing his Yoda-like character Yogurt, along with Bill Pullman as Lone Starr and Daphne Zuniga as Princess Vespa. 

The film has also gotten some new blood, as Pullman’s real-life son Lewis Pullman will be joining the cast to play his character’s son Starburst, while Keke Palmer will be playing a character named Destiny and Josh Gad will be appearing in an undisclosed role. 

Brooks co-wrote and directed the original Spaceballs, but Josh Greenbaum is now taking over directing duties, while Gad, Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit are collaborating on the screenplay.