Little Shop of Horrors Director Says He'd Never Heard of Rick Moranis Before Casting HIm

12/23/2021 04:56 pm EST

Rick Moranis was a huge star in the 1980s and 1990s, appearing in films such as Ghostbusters, Spaceballs, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Parenthood, and more. Sadly, the actor's wife passed away in 1991, and Moranis ended up taking a break from acting to raise their children. He made a few more appearances in the '90s and did some voice work in the 2000s before taking his last acting job in 2008. Ten years later, he made his first on-screen appearance in an episode of The Goldbergs when he reprised his role of Dark Helmet from Spaceballs. Moranis is often a hot topic of conversation and made headlines last year when Ryan Reynolds brought him out of his long retirement for a Mint Mobile commercial. The actor is also expected to reprise his role from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in Disney+'s Shrunk. Recently, another iconic Moranis role came up when director Frank Oz spoke with The Hollywood Reporter. Oz directed Moranis in the iconic movie musical, Little Shop of Horrors. 

"I had never heard of Rick Moranis," Oz said of the actor, who ended up becoming one of his closest friends. "I was working in London for nine years, so I had never seen Rick on television. David recommended him, and I was happy to meet him. I thought he was great after I looked at his work."

Last year, it was announced that Captain America star Chris Evans was going to star in a Little Shop of Horrors reboot from Arrowverse architect Greg Berlanti. Unfortunately, the reboot was put on hold. However, Evans urged his fans and supporters earlier this year to get momentum going again. In fact, Evans and his brother Scott did an interview in which the Marvel star encouraged fans to start a social media campaign.

Speaking to ACE Universe, Evans gave an update about where things stand with the Little Shop of Horrors production:

"I'm over the moon about it – buzz I can't tell you much about," Chris Evans admitted. "'Little Shop'... it hit the brakes for a minute, it had some budget issues... When COVID hit, and all of a sudden budgets for films go through the roof trying to make it a safe place to go to work. So you know, the discussions stalled a bit, to the point that I was calling my team saying 'Hey, what's going on with 'Little Shop?' What's going on with 'Little Shop?' Who do I have to talk to? What do I have to do?"

Little Shop of Horrors (1986) is now streaming on HBO Max. 

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.