The Trading Cards Are Finally Here… Sorta


My favorite part of Spaceballs is when Yogurt opens up the shop. As a kid, I remember imagining how cool it would be to go to a full Spaceballs store, fully unaware that—because of rights issues—it would literally never happen. But, in the decades that have followed, artists and fans have found ways to make the occasional piece of Spaceballs merch and io9 can today debut two of the coolest ones in a while.

For the past few years, artist Cuyler Smith has been making actual trading cards based on sports movies and TV shows. Friday Night Lights, Point Break, Cobra Kai, Starship Troopers, you name it. This Friday, December 6, he’s releasing his sixth full series via Gallery 1988 and, this time, he’s counting the Schwartz. Below are images of Dark Helmet and Lone Star, as trading cards, from artist Cuyler Smith.

Spaceballs Lone Starr Card
Art by Cuyler Smith
Spaceballs Dark Helmet Card
Art by Cuyler Smith

But wait, there’s more. These aren’t just cards. They’re lenticulars. So each can be turned to see just how big each character’s Schwartz is.

Admittedly, there’s a big difference between Spaceballs and something like Starship Troopers, which actually has a sport in it. But Smith just felt like he had to do these anyway.

“I have had this idea for Spaceballs for a while now,” he told io9 via email. “I enjoy cards that are a little unexpected and couldn’t get the vision of it out of my head and I always just personally wanted one. Playing with the transition and depth was a fun challenge and I’m happy with how they turned out. I hope to do more cards like this in the future venturing more outside of traditional sports.”

The cards will be available as a set when Trading Cards 6 goes on sale at 2 p.m. ET Friday, December 6 on the Gallery 1988 website. There are 40 cards in total with the majority costing $18 each in editions of 80. The lenticulars, like Spaceballs, are editions of 250 and cost $25 each, although Spaceballs is only available as part of a $50 set.

So far, Smith has revealed cards from Coming to America, Dumb and Dumber, Community, and more. See the full show, including Spaceballs, Friday.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.


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