Rick Moranis to play Spaceballs’ Dark Helmet for an episode of The Goldbergs

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Fire up your Mr. Coffee machine and cover your private parts, because Lone Starr's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate is set to make an appearance on an episode of the ABC sitcom THE GOLDBERGS. For the special '80s pop culture tribute episode, Rick Moranis will reprise his role as Dark Helmet, a spoof character made famous by Mel Brooks' SPACEBALLS, a send-up to the Star Wars franchise. When Moranis arrives on the program as Dark Helmet, he will voice the iconic character who appears to young Adam Goldberg in a dream sequence. It apparently took weeks for the show's creator, also named Adam Goldberg, to convince Moranis to be a part of the project.

“I truly think Rick Moranis gave the most underrated and brilliant comedic performance in any '80s movie as Dark Helmet,” says Goldberg. “I’ve been a lifelong fan of his work and became obsessed with having him reprise the role on my show. As an added bonus, maybe this even gets Spaceballs back in the conversation and I can get my dream of helping make a sequel!”

As you may already know, Moranis had entered something of an acting hiatus back in 1997, though it appears that with enough massaging by Goldberg, he's willing to wear the helmet, once again. THE GOLDBERGS is loosely based on Goldberg's own childhood, who when he was young embraced such iconic '80s properties as Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and much more. The show follows a young Adam (played by Sean Giambrone) and his family through a series of hapless events while living in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, in the 1980s.

Since taking his hiatus from acting in 1997, Moranis has kept his creative juices flowing by releasing a series of comedy albums in addition to the occasional voice-over for animated projects such as Disney's BROTHER BEAR. News of his appearance on THE GOLDBERGS is sure to be a thrill to fans of the LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS actor, as well as any die hard Star Wars or SPACEBALLS enthusiast.

The SPACEBALLS tribute episode of The Goldbergs will air Wednesday, May 9, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

"Now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb."

– Dark Helmet