Last week, a rumor surfaced in Hollywood that had ‘80s and ‘90s kids rejoicing, as the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids legacyquel Shrunk seemed to be courting original series star Rick Moranis out of retirement. Sadly, Disney stepped in with an announcement that this wasn’t something that they were aware of, casting that rumor back into the darkness. At least, until now, as an official confirmation has just come out that yes, the original Wayne Szalinski will be back to entertain a new generation of Disney fans, and confound fans pondering his rejection of Ghostbusters: Afterlife a bit in the process.
Reports have just come out that Moranis has closed a deal to co-star alongside Josh Gad, who was previously cast to play his son in Shrunk. This comes not too long after another party familiar with the 1989 classic was reported to join up, as director Joe Johnston, known best for his work directing films like The Rocketeer, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, had signed up to direct this picture.
When THR broke this news earlier today, it not only excited film fans, but also fellow Shrunk star Josh Gad. Shortly after this news broke, Gad took to Twitter and issued this statement of gracious fandom:
Of course, Rick Moranis’ emergence from retirement for Shrunk has audiences wondering about just why he decided to come back for Shrunk, but not for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Well, one can assume that much like his decision to pass up returning for Paul Feig’s 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, the role in Jason Reitman’s new bite at the apple was more ornamental than anything substantial.
As Moranis has been mostly absent from the entertainment spotlight, ever since his retirement from film in 1997, following his role in the direct-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, it was naturally going to take a pretty big deal to bring him back into film life. Enjoying the occasional vocal role, as well as a career in music, Rick Moranis has still been a fixture in pop culture, but not even the potential Spaceballs sequel Mel Brooks tried to put together could fit the bill.
However, just as he returned for the Netflix special An Afternoon with SCTV, Moranis felt that the call to bring Wayne Szalinski back to the world was an event too good to pass up. So now, Shrunk has just gotten perhaps the greatest boost it could have ever expected when it comes to its potential fortunes. Welcome back, Mr. Moranis; the world has missed you and awaits your face on the silver screen once more.
Shrunk has no release date or production start date in mind yet, but as soon as further details are made public, we’ll report back with updates.
