What is perhaps the most important film franchise of our time is ready to make its return. No, this isn’t about Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, more Star Wars, or even the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Honey, I shrunk the Kids is back, as previously reported. The big news, though, is that the project has even lured Rick Moranis back into the fold.
The news comes from Deadline, which reports a new entry in the series–titled Shrunk–is in the works, with Josh Gad (Frozen II) starring alongside Moranis. Joe Johnston, who directed the original film, is expected to return, as well.
In the film, Gad plays the son of Wayne Szalinski, the scientist Moranis played who developed a shrinking ray accidentally used on his children. Gad’s character, like his father, aspires to be a great scientist but ends up also shrinking children. There’s seriously something wrong with this family.
The addition of Moranis may come as a surprise to many, given how few roles he’s taken since 1997. In 2005, he explained his self-imposed hiatus from acting was largely due to raising his children as a single parent after the death of his wife. “I’m a single parent, and I just found that it was too difficult to manage raising my kids and doing the traveling involved in making movies. So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn’t miss it,” he explained to USA Today.
After the success of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in 1989, two more movies followed, along with a TV series and three theme park attractions. The franchise has been largely dormant since Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show ended in 2000.
A release date for Shrunk has not been announced.