Rick Moranis returns to acting for Honey, I Shrunk The Kids sequel

Rick Moranis's last on-screen film role was in 1997

Film favourite Rick Moranis is to return to our screens for a new sequel to 1980s family comedy Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.

The actor also starred in Ghostbusters, The Flintstones, Little Shop of Horrors and Parenthood in the 1980s and early 90s, but stepped away from on-screen roles in 1997.

His wife had died six years earlier, and he struggled to continue his film career after becoming a single parent, and decided to concentrate on raising his children.

Although he continued to do occasional voice-overs for films such as Disney's Brother Bear movies, his screen break turned into a 23-year hiatus.

Rick Moranis and John Goodman starred in 1994's The Flintstones

"I'm a single parent, and I just found that it was too difficult to manage raising my kids and doing the travelling involved in making movies," he told USA Today in 2005.

"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."

Five years ago, Moranis declined to take part in the all-female reboot of Ghostbusters.

"It didn't appeal to me," he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "I still get the occasional query about a film or television role, and as soon as one comes along that piques my interest, I'll probably do it."

Fans are now excited to learn that Moranis will reprise his role of Wayne Szalinski for the new film, currently titled Shrunk.

Josh Gad will star as Wayne's son, who as an adult is now an aspiring scientist like is father. Joe Johnston, who directed the 1989 original, will also direct the sequel, which is being produced by Disney.

He is also due to appear in a forthcoming Martin Scorsese-directed Netflix documentary called An Afternoon With SCTV.

SCTV is short for Second City Television, the sketch comedy show that gave Moranis and many other actors their big breaks during its run between 1976 and 1984.

The new Netflix special was filmed in Toronto, with Moranis joining fellow SCTV veterans including Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty.

Other stars who quit acting

• Joe Pesci announced his retirement from acting in 1999. He largely kept his word, with the exception of the occasional cameo or voice role. In 2010, he appeared alongside Dame Helen Mirren in Love Ranch, but he then stayed away from the camera until last year, when Martin Scorsese coaxed him out of retirement to appear in The Irishman. Pesci reportedly turned down the role more than 40 times before he finally gave in. He was rewarded with an Oscar nomination.

• You might not have realised, but Cameron Diaz hasn't been in a film since 2014's Annie, nor does she have any films in the pipeline. In March 2018, she confirmed she had retired from acting. "I feel it's OK for me to take time for myself now to reorganise and choose how I want to come [back] into the world. If I decide to. I don't miss performing," she said last year.

• Renée Zellweger didn't take on any acting roles whatsoever between 2010 and 2016. But she returned in style with the box office smash Bridget Jones's Baby. She went on to play Judy Garland in 2019's Judy - a role that won her the best actress Oscar at the weekend.

• In 2017, Daniel Day-Lewis announced he would retire from acting upon completion of Phantom Thread. His role in the film earned him an Oscar nomination, but he stuck with his decision to retire. "I need to believe in the value of what I'm doing. The work can seem vital, irresistible, even. And if an audience believes it, that should be good enough for me. But, lately, it isn't," he told Variety.

Read more: The Hollywood stars who quit acting