Rick Moranis is returning to the big screen after stepping away from spotlight over two decades ago.
Moranis, who last appeared on screen in the 1996 dark comedy film Big Bully, has recently closed a deal with Disney to return to the next Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel, tentatively titled Shrunk.
Moranis starred as scientist Wayne Szalinski in the 1989 Disney classic and reprised his role in the film’s 1992 sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kids and its 1997 straight-to-DVD continuation Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.
In the original movie, Wayne’s children and his next-door neighbors’ kids stumbled upon one of his experiments at home and ended up shrinking themselves down to the size of bugs. The upcoming sequel will recreate this premise, but this time, it will be Wayne’s son, Nick, who will accidentally shrink his own kids.
Robert Oliveri played Nick in the first two movies of the series. But for the new installment, the role will now be portrayed by Josh Gad.
In a tweet, Gad expressed how happy he is to be starring alongside Moranis in the new sequel. “To say it is a dream come true to once again see #RickMoranis on the big screen is the understatement of the decade. But to say, I get an up seat view of him returning to play one of his most iconic roles is the understatement of the Century. Welcome back hero!” Gad tweeted.
The sequel, which will be debut in theaters and not on Disney+, will be directed by the franchise’s original director Joe Johnston from a screenplay by Todd Rosenberg. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are producing the film through their Mandeville Films and Television banner.
This is the first on-screen role for Moranis in 24 years after he decided to focus on being a single father to his two children following the death of his wife Ann Belsky in 1991 due to breast cancer. Though he stopped doing on-screen acting work in 1997, he has continued to do voice-overs in Disney’s Brother Bear movies and The Animated Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2015, Moranis made it clear that he has not retired from show business yet. “I took a break, which turned into a longer break,” he explained at the time. “But I’m interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role and as soon as one comes along that piques my interest.”
And though he has been away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for several years, the SCTV Network alum doesn’t regret making his children his priority. “I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people. I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me,” he added. “I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful.”