You Can Thank George Lucas for One Of Spaceballs’ Best Jokes

Mel Brooks has made a career out of lampooning pop culture with often hilarious results. He famously parodied the Western genre in Blazing Saddles and who could forget his outlandish take on classic horror cinema, Young Frankenstein. Although it may not be his most celebrated picture, the filmmaker’s 1987 sci-fi spoof Spaceballs is still one of his most accessible efforts to date. With the flick back in the spotlight thanks to the news that a sequel is in the works, now seems like the perfect time to look back on one of the picture’s most memorable sequences and its unlikely origins.

More specifically, we’re talking about the merchandising gag in Spaceballs. There’s a great story behind that scene and we’re eager to fill you in on how it came to be.

The Merchandising Sequence in Spaceballs Came About After a Conversation With George Lucas

In his 2021 memoir All About Me! In “My Remarkable Life in Show Business,” Brooks details the infamous, fourth-wall-breaking Spaceballs merchandising sequence. The folks at Lit Hub previously published an excerpt from the tome, which details Brooks’ good-faith efforts to ensure George Lucas wasn’t caught off guard by the spoof, which pokes plenty of good-natured fun at Star Wars.

“He said he had seen Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein and was a big fan,” Brooks begins. “He enjoyed the script, and only had one real caveat for me: no action figures. He explained that if I made toys of my Spaceballs characters they would look a lot like Star Wars action figures. And that would be a no-no for his lawyers and his studio’s business affairs department. So he gave his blessing to make my funny satiric takeoff of Star Wars as long as I promised that we would not sell any action figures.”

Brooks made good on his end of the bargain and avoided selling action figures. However, that didn’t stop him from scripting (along with co-writers Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan) a comical sequence in which the chief antagonist, Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), plays with action figures. Moreover, the conversation with Lucas likely inspired Brooks to craft the unforgettable merchandising scene.

Read Next

Spaceballs Already Gave Us a Sequel, And You Completely Forgot About It

The sequence sees Spaceballs heroes Lone Starr (Bill Pullman), Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), Dot Matrix (Joan Rivers), and Barf (John Candy) rescued from the desert by the Dink-Dinks and brought to the legendary Yogurt (Brooks). Yogurt teaches Lone Starr about using the Schwartz (a nonsensical play on the Force) and even makes time for some old-fashioned product placement.

“Merchandising, merchandising,” Yogurt calls out during the infamous scene. “Where the real money from the movie is made. Spaceballs the T-shirt! Spaceballs the coloring book! Spaceballs the lunchbox! Spaceballs the breakfast cereal! Spaceballs the flame-thrower! The kids love this one.”

This scene good-naturedly calls attention to the bevy of licensed merchandise released following the resounding success of the original Star Wars trilogy. Although we never got the chance to purchase any of the merch, that scene remains a standout for fans after several decades.

In addition to lampooning films from the original Star Wars trilogy, Spaceballs also pokes fun at Alien and Star Trek. The narrative follows Lone Starr, a mercenary star pilot, and his sidekick, Barf (John Candy), a half-man, half-dog. The pair comes to the rescue of Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), who was taken hostage by the sinister Dark Helmet.

Each of the core characters bears obvious similarities to a specific counterpart in the Star Wars canon. More specifically, Lone Starr is inspired by Han Solo, Barf is based on Chewbacca, Princess Vespa is a nod to Princess Leia, Dark Helmet is a spoof of Darth Vader, Dot Matrix is riffing on C-3PO, and Yogurt is, of course, a Yoda reference.

Mel Brooks is a comedic genius who finds inspiration in the most unlikely places. Who else could take an admonition from George Lucas about copyright infringement and turn it into the kind of comedic gold we’re still talking about nearly 40 years later?

If you’re itching for more Spaceballs, hang tight. Brooks is in development on a sequel planned for release in 2027. Let us know what you’re hoping to see from the impending follow-up effort in the comments section below.