In Celebration of Spaceballs 2, Here Are 12 Tales from Mel Brooks' Original Spaceballs

      In celebration of the newly announced Spaceballs 2, here are 12 behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the original Spaceballs.

      As surprising as it may sound, Mel Brooks has revealed that Spaceballs 2 is set to debut in 2027 — four decades after the first Spaceballs. Interestingly, 2027 is also the year when Brooks, now 98, will celebrate his 101st birthday (June 28).

      In his announcement, Brooks stated, “I told you we’d be back.”

      Now, here are 12 stories from behind the scenes of Spaceballs — a sci-fi comedy that delivers jokes at an outrageous pace.

      Mel Brooks Was Inspired by His Son’s Passion for Star Wars

      Spaceballs draws humor from various sci-fi classics, especially parodying the original 1977 Star Wars. In his memoir, All About Me!, Brooks explains that the inspiration for Spaceballs came from his son Max’s enthusiasm for the Star Wars films. Brooks would take him to see the films, and for Max's tenth birthday, he hosted a Star Wars-themed celebration.

      This sparked an idea for Brooks: “Science fiction! Now there’s a genre I haven’t ruined yet.”

      He had previously tackled Westerns with Blazing Saddles and horror movies with Young Frankenstein, both released in 1974, among several other genres.

      Mel Brooks Takes Some Credit for Star Wars

      20th Century Fox – Credit: C/O 20th Century Fox

      Without Star Wars, there might not have been Spaceballs. However, if it weren’t for Young Frankenstein, Star Wars might not have existed in its current form — at least, that’s one perspective. Brooks recounts in his memoir that the decision by 20th Fox executive Alan Ladd to greenlight Young Frankenstein in 1974 gave him the leverage to greenlight over three hundred films throughout his career, including High Anxiety (1977), Star Wars (1977), Alien (1977), Blade Runner (1982), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), and Thelma and Louise (1991).

      Of course, Spaceballs also takes cues from Alien and numerous other sci-fi classics.

      Spaceballs Was Also Influenced by It Happened One Night

      Columbia Pictures

      One of the primary inspirations for Spaceballs actually came from a classic Frank Capra film, 1934's It Happened One Night, rather than a sci-fi movie. This film was the first to win all five major Oscar categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

      The story follows an heiress (Claudette Colbert) who escapes her dull fiancé on her wedding day and finds romance with a charming regular guy played by Clark Gable. “We adapted that same basic storyline and shot it into space!” Brooks wrote in his memoir.

      In Spaceballs, Princess Vespa of Planet Druidia (Daphne Zuniga) escapes her unexciting fiancé, Prince Valium, on her wedding day and falls for the charming regular guy named Lone Starr (Bill Pullman).

      Daphne Zuniga Wasn’t Initially a Mel Brooks Fan

      MGM – Credit: C/O

      Before collaborating with Brooks, Zuniga stated she found his movie parodies “too crass and just not funny,” as cited by Turner Classic Movies. However, her opinion changed after working on Spaceballs.

      “I had this impression of Mel as completely wacky and out of touch. And he is. But he’s also incredibly perceptive and sensitive in ways that resonate with actors,” she remarked.

      Brooks recalls that when he offered Zuniga the role of Vespa, she hesitated, saying, “I don’t know. I haven’t done much comedy.” He responded with, “That could be a plus!” (He explained that effective comedy often comes from a serious performance.)

      Ultimately, Zuniga proved to be quite humorous in Spaceballs, mainly because her character took all the absurdity around her very seriously.

      Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks Declined the Role of Lone Starr

      20th Century Fox/Paramount – Credit: C/O

      Both Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise are reported to have turned down the role of Lone Starr, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

      You can catch a glimpse of how they looked around the time of the 1987 release of Spaceballs — Hanks on the left in a promotional image for Big and Cruise on the right in a promotional image for Top Gun — and ponder what could have been.

      The role eventually went to a then-unknown Bill Pullman.

      John Candy Ad-Libbed One of the Funniest Lines

      MGM – Credit: C/O

      John Candy portrayed Lone Starr’s Chewbacca-like companion, Barf, a half-man, half-dog creature. Brooks notes that Candy ad-libbed one of the film’s memorable lines when he and Lone Starr’s flying RV crash-land in the