When Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs hit theaters in 1987, some critics felt that it was too late to do a parody of Star Wars. It had been four years since the trilogy ended and a full decade since the original movie became a global phenomenon. But the timelessness of Brooks’ classic spoof has proven those critics wrong.
The staying power of Star Wars means that Spaceballs could’ve been made today and still would’ve connected with audiences. If that was the case, it might have starred such contemporary actors as Chris Pratt, Kevin Hart, and Taika Waititi.
Chris Pratt As Lone Starr
Since Star Wars has too many characters to parody them all individually, Brooks combined Luke Skywalker and Han Solo into a single role. The captain of a flying Winnebago called “Eagle 5,” Lone Starr is a cynical smuggler with a dinged-up ship like Han, but he’s also a clairvoyant warrior like Luke (except he’s Schwartz-sensitive, not Force-sensitive).
Bill Pullman did a hilarious job with Lone Starr’s quippy one-liners in the original movie. Today, the part could be played brilliantly by Chris Pratt, who became a Hollywood A-lister playing a cross between Luke and Han in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Kevin James As Barf
Barf is a parody of Han’s lovable Wookiee sidekick Chewbacca. By making his space pirate’s sidekick a “mawg” – half-man, half-dog – Brooks leaned into Chewie’s origins. George Lucas originally based Chewie on his pet dog Indiana, who would ride shotgun in his car like the Wookiee does in the Millennium Falcon. In the original movie, the legendary John Candy gave a hilarious turn as Barf.
Since this role needs a husky actor with a lot of confidence and a wacky comedic sensibility, it could be played by Kevin James today. In sitcoms like The King of Queens and movies like Paul Blart: Mall Cop, James has given warm, endearing, larger-than-life performances that would make him a great choice for Barf.
Tiffany Haddish As Dot Matrix
Played by the late, great Joan Rivers, Dot Matrix is the robotic servant to Princess Vespa who joins her when she runs away from her arranged marriage. The character was technically conceived as a spoof of C-3PO, but Rivers imbued the character with her own biting comedic persona.
In many ways, Dot Matrix is the deadpan reactionary role of the movie. If Spaceballs was made today, Tiffany Haddish – the breakout star of Girls Trip and, like Rivers, a hugely popular standup comic – could bring the same acerbic wit to the character.
Larry David As President Skroob
President Skroob, the bumbling, inept leader of Planet Spaceball, is one of the characters played by Brooks himself. His name is even an anagram of “Brooks.” Skroob is a spoof of Emperor Palpatine, but he’s closer to the corrupt politician that Palpatine would later become in the prequels than the Sith overlord he was in the original trilogy targeted by Spaceballs.
Today, the role of a flustered, crooked intergalactic world leader could be played brilliantly by Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David. David would play Skroob as even more of a curmudgeon than Brooks did.
Jason Sudeikis As Colonel Sandurz
Colonel Sandurz, named in honor of KFC’s Colonel Sanders but based on Star Wars’ Grand Moff Tarkin, is the commander of Spaceball One and was originally played by George Wyner as the “straight man” opposite Dark Helmet.
Jason Sudeikis has played the “straight man” role spectacularly in a handful of SNL sketches and opposite his fake family in the road trip comedy We’re the Millers.
Kristen Wiig As Princess Vespa
Princess Vespa, Spaceballs’ tough-as-nails runaway bride parody of Princess Leia, was originally played by Daphne Zuniga. If Spaceballs was made today, the role could be played hilariously by former SNL cast member and Bridesmaids star Kristen Wiig.
Wiig already played a proxy for Leia in the bar scene from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s sci-fi comedy Paul that spoofed the Mos Eisley Cantina sequence from Star Wars. She could take that role a step further and play a full-on Leia lampoon in a feature-length movie.
Taika Waititi As Yogurt
In addition to playing President Skroob, Brooks played the role of Yogurt, the wise, aging keeper of the Schwartz. A parody of Yoda, Yogurt is used for the movie’s satire of Lucasfilm’s merchandising, as he tries to sell a bunch of Spaceballs toys to the heroes.
Today, this role could be played by Taika Waititi, who rose to prominence with his role as mild-mannered rock monster Korg in Thor: Ragnarok. Earlier this year, Waititi gave a scene-stealing supporting turn as the villain in Free Guy.
Kevin Hart As Dark Helmet
Rick Moranis gives arguably the funniest performance in Spaceballs as Dark Helmet, the movie’s absurdist proxy for Darth Vader who can harness the “downside” of the Schwartz. Unlike the towering Vader, Dark Helmet is a spoilt brat with short stature.
If the movie was made today, the role of a short, hot-tempered man-child who’s always losing it could be played by Kevin Hart, who’s built his entire acting career around this screen persona.