A week ago, Rick Moranis’ chances of returning for Shrunk, Disney’s new Honey, I Shrunk the Kids project, seemed dead in the water. After several days of rumors and gossip that Moranis would be reprising the role of Wayne Szalinski, the Mouse House stepped in. The studio said they had “no knowledge” of any talks with Moranis or his involvement in the project and that, coupled with the actor’s decades-long hiatus from live-action films, seemed to be that.
But it turns out Disney was being rather economical with the truth, as we learned yesterday that Moranis is indeed officially appearing in Shrunk. The film will follow his character’s son, who tries to follow in his father’s footsteps and ends up involved in yet more shrink ray-induced shenanigans. Original Honey, I Shrunk the Kids director Joe Johnston is back in the saddle, and we also learned that the movie is now a full theatrical release rather than a Disney Plus exclusive.
And, to cement that this is actually happening, Moranis made the following tweet:
https://twitter.com/RickMoranis53/status/1227749007390212096?s=20
First of all, it’s kind of adorable that not only is Rick Moranis not verified on Twitter, but that he’s using the handle ‘RickMoranis53.’ Anyway, this confirmation has resulted in an outpouring of nostalgia for Moranis’ greatest roles, with the replies referencing his other appearances in Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, Little Shop of Horrors and Spaceballs.
Honestly, I’ve missed Moranis ever since his hiatus began and I’d love to see him make a full comeback. Beyond Shrunk, there are persistent rumors that he’s set to make a cameo appearance along with the rest of the original crew in this summer’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Like many, I dismissed them out of hand, but now that we know that Moranis is indeed interested in getting back in front of the camera, who knows?
Shrunk is set to shoot fairly soon and will likely release in summer 2021. Personally, I can’t wait to see some pics of the actor back on set.