Rick Moranis was a comedy staple throughout the 80s and into the 90s. One of his most famous roles was that of obsessive inventor Wayne Szalinski in 1989’s Honey I Shrink The Kids, a role he would reprise in its sequels.
It came to light last year that Disney was looking into a follow-up movie, simply called “Shrunk,” that would put Wayne’s grown-up son Nick in the same situation. Josh Gad has been tapped for the role of Nick, but what about Wayne? Moranis hasn’t been seen in any theatrical film since 1994’s Little Giants.
The truth is, Moranis voluntarily ended his career there. It was around that time that his wife died, and stricken with grief, he decided to quit acting and focus on raising his children. Moranis did reappear in the 1997 direct-to-video Honey We Shrunk Ourselves, but that was most likely a contractual obligation thing. (He saw no issue with cartoons, appearing as a moose in Brother Bear.)
Gradually, though, Moranis has begun to reappear here and there, though the appearances are hard to catch. He declined an offer to play a role in Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, but he DID agree to reprise Dark Helmet in an episode of The Goldbergs. And now that Honey I Shrunk The Kids is being dug out of the Disney Vault for another go, he has agreed to play Wayne one more time.
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! #Shrunk https://t.co/oZRokBbQQs
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) February 12, 2020
There are still a lot of things we don’t know about Shrunk, like the plot outline beyond “someone gets shrunk.” Joe Johnston, who directed the original movie, will direct Shrunk as well. David Hoberman is serving as producer, while Todd Rosenberg is writing the movie’s script.
Previously announced as a Disney+ project, Deadline reports Shrunk has been bumped up to a theatrical feature, to be released in either 2021 or 2022.
