Rick Moranis jokes he never ‘retired’ in rare Comic-Con appearance

Rick Moranis joked about his years-long absence from Hollywood during a San Diego Comic-Con panel for “Spaceballs: The New One” Friday.

In footage from the event, the “Ghostbusters” actor joked to audience members of his return to mainstream movies, saying, “I really wasn’t retired. I was just negotiating!”

As audience members laughed, Moranis said of the sequel to the iconic 1987 comedy, “This came along right at the right time.”

Moranis said he made the decision to join the movie — which will debut in April 2027 — after “hearing who was going to be in it.”

The “Little Shop of Horrors” star, 73, noted that Bill Pullman would also be returning for the sequel — and bringing along his son, Lewis Pullman.

“It just felt like, ‘This is it.’ This is… it’s time,” Moranis gushed.

Also reprising their roles will be Mel Brooks, Daphne Zuniga and George Wyner, while Keke Palmer, Josh Gad, Anthony Carrigan and Rowan Witt are joining the cast for the first time.

In social media threads, fans were thrilled to see that Moranis is back to his goofball role, the beloved Lord Dark Helmet, from “Spaceballs.”

“Rick is the goat, welcome back 🙌🙌🙌,” one person wrote, while another chimed in, “Ludicrous speed,” quoting the original film.

“Really happy to see Rick Moranis back on the big screen! Super cool guy and interesting life story,” a fan wrote on X.

Another remarked, “That’s such a great moment – a standing ovation like that shows how much love there still is for these characters. Awesome to see him back.”

One person gushed, “Absolute legend! One in a million! Huge respect xXx.”

They were also enthusiastic in real life. Footage from Comic-Con showed fans giving Moranis a standing ovation as he made his way through the audience in his oversized Lord Dark Helmet helmet and chanting to him onstage, “Rick! Rick! Rick!”

Moranis’ triumphant return to his “Spaceballs” role — 40 years later — comes nearly 30 years after he stepped away from Hollywood in 1997 following his wife Anne Belsky’s death from breast cancer.

The actor stepped away from the limelight to care for daughter Rachel and son Mitchell following their mother’s 1991 death.

The “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” actor briefly returned to the big screen for voice acting roles in “Brother Bear” and “Brother Bear 2” in the mid-2000s, but mostly remained out of the spotlight for years.

“I took a break, which turned into a longer break,” he told the Hollywood Reporter back in 2015.

“I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever,” the actor insisted. “My life is wonderful.”