Mel Brooks, 100, filmed his scenes for the upcoming “Spaceballs” sequel before principal photography even began.
Daphne Zuniga, 62, who returns as Princess Vespa in “Spaceballs: The New One,” revealed at a Sunday panel at 90s Con that the comedy legend insisted on shooting early due to his age. The actress explained that Brooks worked with the writers on the sequel and remained a major creative force behind the project.
“It was his idea: ‘You better film me now because I’m 100.’ So we did,” she said.
Zuniga noted that Brooks had already completed his work before the main production started. “We filmed ‘Spaceballs: The New One’ that Mel Brooks worked with the writers on. He’s a big influence in it. He filmed his part already before we shot,” she shared during the convention appearance.
Brooks will reprise his role as Yogurt, the wise alien merchant from the 1987 original. The sequel, directed by Josh Greenbaum, has assembled a cast mixing returning faces with newcomers including Keke Palmer, Josh Gad and Lewis Pullman.
Josh Gad, who also serves as co-writer and producer, previously described Brooks’s remarkable vitality during a 2024 appearance on Kelly Ripa’s SiriusXM podcast. “… It’s been such a thrill to get to see him literally still on form in every single way,” Gad said.
“He is so effortlessly funny and so unbelievably brilliant,” he added of the centenarian filmmaker.
Brooks himself has shrugged off the limitations of age in recent interviews. During a September 2025 conversation with the Times of London, the EGOT winner admitted that some days he barely registers the decades that have passed since his youth.
“I talk on the phone and I write — every day. Always writing, always correcting, always questioning,” he said.
The original “Spaceballs,” released in 1987, became a cult classic through its relentless parody of “Star Wars” and broader science-fiction tropes. Brooks wrote, directed and starred in the film, which featured John Candy as Barf, Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet, and Zuniga as the kidnapped Princess Vespa alongside Bill Pullman’s Lone Starr. The movie layered slapstick with rapid-fire pop-culture references and merchandising jokes that have only grown more resonant as franchise filmmaking expanded across Hollywood.
Zuniga confirmed at 90s Con that “Spaceballs: The New One” is scheduled for theatrical release on April 23, 2027.
