Over the last several years Disney has been mining their vast catalog to create live-action versions of some of their most cherished properties. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, and THE LION KING have all received revivals and been met with tremendous success at the box office. However, Disney is also not averse to reviving/rebooting previous IPs that aren't animated. One of these is 1989's HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS directed by Joe Johnston.
Back in December JoBlo reported that Joe Johnston was in negotiations to return to helm the reboot/sequel with Josh Gad set to play the adult version of Nick Szalinski. Actor Robert Oliveri played the child version of Nick in the original. The updated version of the film will see Nick following in the footsteps of his father by becoming a scientist, continuing with the miniaturization research, and (you guessed it) accidentally shrinking his own children. When will science ever learn!!??
The father in question was Wayne Szalinski played by comedy great Rick Moranis. While Moranis has starred in some of the great all-time comedies (SPACEBALLS, GHOSTBUSTERS, LITTLE GIANTS), the Toronto, Canada native has been mostly absent from Hollywood over the last two decades. Consequently, most concluded that the chances of Moranis returning to one of his signature roles was highly unlikely. However, if a new report is to be believed that may not be the case.
While the following news should be taken with a copious amount of salt, DisInsider reports that Rick Moranis is in early talks to reprise his role as scientist and inventor Wayne Szalinski. If true, the role is said to be a significant part and not just a mere cameo. This would align with former actions by Moranis who turned down a cameo in the 2016 GHOSTBUSTERS reboot and will not appear in Jason Reitman's upcoming movie GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE. It's highly unlikely that Moranis would turn down a cameo in those films only to take on a cameo for a HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS sequel.
As previously stated, this news is merely rumor at this time. Disney has denied that any conversations are happening with Moranis. Since Rick Moranis' last film work was voicing Rutt in 2006's animated feature BROTHER BEAR 2, I wouldn't get my hopes up. While Moranis never officially retired from acting, he's certainly been quite selective in what projects he chooses. Ironically, Moranis' last live-action role was as Wayne Szalinski in the 1997 Direct-To-Video film HONEY, WE SHRUNK OURSELVES.
So what do you guys think of this news? Do you think Rick Moranis will return? Are you at all interested in the prospect of a new HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS movie? Sound off in the comments below!