Mel Brooks’ ‘History of the World’ Will Finally Get a ‘Part II’
The Inquisition, what a show! And now, literally!
Mel Brooks dubbed his 1981 comedy History of the World: Part I. The anthology film poked fun at various periods of human history, including the earliest days of the caveman to the Roman Empire to the Spanish Inquisition to the French Revolution. The Part I of the title was a joke; Brooks didn’t plan on making a sequel, but he did get to finish the film with a fake teaser promoting some of the scenes from the sequel, including the immortal classic “Jews in Space!”
Well, it’s a not joke anymore — or hopefully it’s now many jokes, all of them very funny, as Brooks (now age 95!) is finally writing and producing a History of the World Part II television series for Hulu. According to a press release, Brooks isn’t the only comedy heavyweight involved, with Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen and Kevin Salter all involved as writers and producers.
Here was Brooks’ comment on the news:
I can’t wait to once more tell the real truth about all the phony baloney stories the world has been conned into believing are History!
Brooks has never made a sequel to any of his popular comedy films like Blazing Saddles or Robin Hood: Men in Tights. In the past, he has remade a few as Broadway shows (like The Producers and Young Frankenstein) and there was a pilot for a Blazing Saddles TV show called Black Bart that never made it to series. Brooks did turn Spaceballs into a short-lived animated series in 2008, but it lasted for just one season. Maybe he can finally get around to Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money next. Production in History of the World: Part II is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2022. The writers room will first meet later this month.