Spaceballs becomes a cartoon series

Just in time for his Star Wars parody to turn 20, Mel Brooks has signed a deal with MGM TV to spin Spaceballs off into a cartoon.

Yes, while the jokes may have been a little creaky and obvious, and the film might not have raked in the doubloons at the box office, the TV types clearly think that there’s scope for a series. Brooks and one of the original film’s co-writers, Thomas Meehan, will write an hour-long pilot to launch the show next year, with 13 half-hour shows also planned.

It’s not known whether the likes of Rick Moranis (Dark Helmet) and Bill Pullman (Lone Starr) will return to lend their tonsils to the ‘toon, though Brooks himself will be providing voice duties for his two original roles, President Skroob and Yoda-alike mystic Yoghurt.

So can we expect a cavalcade of jokes aimed at the new Star Wars movies? Probably… Though given the timing, we can probably look forward to pokes at Battlestar Galactica and Starship Troopers as well.

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