Rick Moranis made his first Comic-Con appearance Friday to promote the upcoming sequel "Spaceballs: The New One" [1, 2, 3, 4].

The appearance marks a significant return for the actor, who has largely avoided the spotlight for nearly three decades. His participation in the new project represents his first live-action movie role since 1997 [1, 5].

Moranis appeared before a crowd in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con on July 24 [2, 4, 6]. The actor received a standing ovation as he joined the panel for the sequel [1, 2, 3, 4]. During the event, Moranis said he had a joke about his long absence from the film industry.

"I never retired," Moranis said [3].

The project, titled "Spaceballs: The New One" [2, 3, 4], is scheduled for release in April 2027 [7]. While some early reports referred to the film as "Spaceballs 2," most sources identify it by the full title [2, 4].

Moranis' last live-action appearance was in the 1997 film "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves!" [5]. Since that time, the actor has remained largely out of the public eye, making this appearance in San Diego a rare event for fans and industry professionals alike [1, 3].

“"I never retired."”

The return of Rick Moranis to a major franchise like Spaceballs signals a shift in the actor's long-term hiatus from live-action cinema. By appearing at a high-profile venue like San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H, the production is leveraging nostalgia to build momentum for a 2027 release, marking one of the most anticipated returns of a legacy comedic actor to the screen.