The Mouse House is set to fill Disney Plus with continuations, spinoffs and reboots of many of its iconic IPs, even those that have been long defunct. At the top of the pile is Shrunk, a reboot/belated sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids which will see Josh Gad star as Nick Szalinski, one of the kids from the original 1989 movie who’s grown up to follow in his father, Wayne Szalinski’s footsteps, and become an inventor. And guess what, he’ll end up shrinking his own kids, just like his pops.
Clearly, Wayne’s impact on the plot will be keenly felt, but according to the latest reports, he might actually appear in the pic, too. The DisInsider has shared that their sources tell them Disney is courting Rick Moranis to return as the wacky scientist. The outlet notes that the actor, also known for his beloved turns as Louis Tully in Ghostbusters and Dark Helmet in Spaceballs, has yet to actually sign up to board the project, but the studio is in early talks with him.
The DisInsider has even got hold of a character breakdown, which tells us what the plan is for Wayne in the movie. It’s said that his relationship with his kids has become estranged since the death of his wife/their mother, Diane. He’ll be revealed to have cut himself off in a bid to come up with some kind of shrinking tech that could’ve reduced Diane’s cancer. However, he’s now wracked with guilt that he failed and across the film, he’ll reconnect with Nick and daughter Amy.
This would be a very emotionally-charged storyline for Moranis to play out. He retired from acting in the mid-90s after the tragic passing of his wife, also from cancer, to become a full-time single father to his two children. In recent years, he’s made small-scale appearances here and there, but his interest in capitalizing on his past success seems to be limited. For instance, he passed on making a cameo in 2016’s Ghostbusters. But maybe Disney can convince him to join their production.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids director Joe Johnston is also in talks to return to helm Shrunk, so if both him and Moranis sign up, it could end up being a top-draw nostalgic “legacy sequel.”