Fans are about to see more of Rick Moranis than they have in the past two decades. After a hiatus that was only broken by the occasional cameo and commercial, Moranis will return to acting in the Disney film Shrunk. The reclusive star will reprise the role of Wayne Szalinski, his first live action role since 1997's Honey We Shrunk Ourselves. However, if a Comic Con pitch had come to fruition, Moranis would have made his comeback sooner, in his own animated series on Adult Swim.
Rare Bird Games, the team behind the first-person Seinfeld horror video game, recently revealed its pitch video for The Gatekeeper. The show would have starred Moranis as himself and integrated his absence from Hollywood into the premise.
The Moranis of the show left his acting career behind to be the titular gatekeeper between Earth and Hell. His life changes when a teenager finds a box of cereal from the '90s promoting Honey We Shrunk Ourselves with a winning golden ticket inside.
The ticket entitles him to meet Moranis and has no expiration date. With no legal recourse, Moranis has to accept the teenager's presence for a week-long visit to his cabin, but does his best to avoid them.
Moranis would eventually reveal himself as the Gatekeeper to the teen, saving their life from a demon. The teen would decide to abandon their normal life and train to be Moranis's replacement.
The most impressive part of the pitch is that it was spontaneous. The man who made it, a friend of studio heads Colton and Austin Stock named Albert, came up with it an hour before he pitched it to Adult Swim at San Diego Comic Con 2017.
His presentation -- including details like a gigantic mantis butler called the Morantis -- won over the crowd that voted on the contest. They overwhelmingly voted for it over two other contestants. Unfortunately, the series didn't come to fruition. Rare Bird did some concept art and tweaked some of the characters, including changing the gender of Moranis's teen protegé.
Adult Swim ultimately passed on the show. It didn't think viewers would know who Moranis was, given his lengthy acting hiatus. As odd as that sounds to fans who grew up with his iconic roles, it also makes sense.
While he's beloved by Generation X and older Millennials, it's likely younger viewers are largely unaware of Moranis. Another '80s icon, Mike Tyson, had a show on Adult Swim, but he has some surprising relevance to younger audiences.
Mike Tyson Mysteries, which debuted in 2014, recently concluded its four-season run. Tyson has more recent film credits than Moranis. His cameos in the first two Hangover films and appearances in pro wrestling kept him in the public eye and introduced him to a younger audience that wasn't alive when he was "the baddest man on the planet."
Adult Swim's choice to pass on The Gatekeeper is disappointing, both for Moranis and animation fans. It doesn't help that it comes on the heels of the news of the beloved Venture Bros' cancellation. As much as it might make sense from a business perspective, The Gatekeeper's premise had enough potential that it's unfortunate it didn't make it to development.