‘Spaceballs 2’ Just Added the Perfect New Actor to the Cast

Fans have waited almost 40 years for news about Spaceballs 2—and then, in a single day, we got soaked in it like Pizza the Hut. First, news broke that the film was a go with Mel Brooks reprising his role as Yogurt. Then, Rick Moranis and Bill Pullman were announced to reprise their roles from the 1987 original. And now, finally, maybe the best news of all: plot details have been revealed along with a key piece of casting. Lewis Pullman, son of Bill Pullman, will play his father’s son in the film.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the casting as well as some new plot details. According to the trade, Lewis Pullman is playing Starburst, the son of Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and  Queen Vespa (Daphne Zuniga, who is also now expected to return). Starburst is one of the film’s three main characters, along with Destiny, played by Keke Palmer, and a character played by Josh Gad, who has yet to be named. (Is he a Skroob? A Helmet? A Barf? We’ll see.)

The younger Pullman has had an incredible few years, first really breaking out as the lovable naval aviator Bob in Top Gun: Maverick, followed by playing another Bob, aka Sentry, in this summer’s Thunderbolts. He has appeared alongside his father before, in a 2017 film called The Ballad of Lefty Brown, but really, this is the one every fan has hoped for. Plus, he completes a trio that lives up to the film’s early tagline: “The Schwartz Awakens.” A play on the title of the seventh Star Wars film, it suggested the story would follow new, younger characters with the legacy characters (Brooks, Pullman, Moranis, etc.) in smaller roles. Amazon describes the film as  “A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film.”

Spaceballs 2 will be coming to theaters in 2027. It’s directed by Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar) from a script by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Josh Gad. It does not yet have an official title but, if the title isn’t Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, I think everyone will be very, very disappointed.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.