The sad part about the Rick Moranis demon-fighting cartoon that would have originally been seen on Adult Swim is that a lot of younger people these days don’t know that much about Rick Moranis and they certainly don’t enough about why he gave up acting. He’s come out of retirement for a couple of gigs, one having to do with the Honey I Shrunk the Kids follow-up and the other a cellphone commercial, but otherwise, he’s stayed out of the spotlight for the most part. The fact that this cartoon isn’t happening is kind of disheartening really, especially if Adult Swim is worried about its viewers in any sense. They’ve watched things like Rick and Morty for crying out loud, how could anything possibly get any worse? Okay, there are worse things, but a demon-fighting Rick Moranis would be easy enough to explain in a storyline and it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to actually explore his backstory a bit in order to help people understand. The fact that he retired in 1997 shouldn’t be that big of a deal apart from the fact that many people in their 20s or younger still aren’t likely to know him that well, or why the story would make that much sense.
How cool does it sound to have Rick Moranis explain his absence from acting by stating that he’s been serving as the Gatekeeper between Hell and earth? Given his role in The Ghostbusters back in the 80s this is kind of a fun play on the whole Keymaster routine, only Rick gets to play himself this time. Think of it, a guy that no one assumes could do much more than make people laugh is holding back the forces of Hell from taking over the world, or something along those lines. It already sounds like it would be a lot of fun, but apparently Adult Swim isn’t thinking so since they haven’t pushed it forward. It’d be nice if someone would pick up this idea and run with it since otherwise, it might feel like a big loss that could have been avoided. There are too many ideas out there that could really be developed into something special if they were given legs and allowed to run. But there’s also a lot of other factors to consider when signing on another show, and of course, the almighty dollar and how much can be brought in is one big consideration that can push or tank an idea, even if there’s a good indication that the show might actually do well.
Right now it would just be great to see Rick Moranis back in action since he’s been gone for so long. He retired to take care of his kids when his wife passed as a lot of people have come to realize, so his step down from show business was taken for a good reason. And it’s not exactly as though he’s been hurting financially since his net worth has remained pretty constant throughout the years, meaning that he’s obviously smart enough to live within his means. But it’d still be great to see him back if only every now and then or for a voice role since the guy is a classic when it comes to comedy and to acting in general. From some of his earliest performances to movies such as Spaceballs, Ghostbusters, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Strange Brew, and many others he’s been absolutely great, and a lot of people would love to see him make a return. It wouldn’t be a comeback since he was still rather popular when he decided to step away, but all the same, Rick would be more than welcome since he’s one of the many individuals that brings a great deal of experience and a lot of professionalism to the craft. He’s managed to stand toe to toe with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and he’s done so with a great amount of skill that usually managed to enhance the movie in some way.
Yes, he is the last guy that a lot of people would look to as a defender in this regard, but that’s a part of what makes the idea so great since people wouldn’t expect it and would likely be surprised to see such an idea take shape. There has to be another reason that Adult Swim doesn’t want to take this on, since just worrying if it would perform well enough hasn’t stopped them in the past. But if the series does manage to come to fruition and it needs another home, it feels certain that there are plenty of landing spots that might be able to take it on and make it work as best they can. This idea sounds too good to simply toss.
