Released in November 1996, "Space Jam" became an instant classic sports movie,
not to mention a millennial cultural touchstone. It took a long time to get
a sequel off the ground, but it's finally on its way, hitting theaters and HBO Max in July 2021.
Here's everything you need to know about "Space Jam: A New Legacy."
The first "Space Jam" employed a fairly standard (if bizarre) high-stakes science-fiction plotline,
with the addition of basketball. After the classic Looney Tunes characters were kidnapped
by alien creatures called the Nerdlucks to be attractions at a theme park in space,
Bugs Bunny recruited Michael Jordan and challenged the villains (who stole the
powers of NBA stars) to a basketball game — if they lose, they'd remain captives.
"What about we raise the stakes a little bit?"
The plot of "A New Legacy" suggests it's not a direct sequel,
but an updating and reimagining of the first movie's story and themes.
This time, the movie centers on the present-day's most dominant basketball player, LeBron James,
as he and his son get trapped in a digital world by an evil artificial intelligence program.
In order to win freedom for himself and Dom, James has to train,
lead, and play alongside all those goofy Looney Tunes cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny,
Lola Bunny, and Daffy Duck. Standing in their way: Impossibly tough basketball superhero monsters
and robots based on real-life NBA stars, including James' own teammates and friends.
The original "Space Jam" not only deftly mixed live action with animation, but it also combined
a cast of acting-neophyte athletes with veteran comic performers. On the jock side, "Space
Jam" starred Michael Jordan, of course, with appearances from Charles Barkley and Larry Bird,
while Bill Murray and Wayne Knight (aka Newman from "Seinfeld") represented the funny side.
"Space Jam 2" will take a similar approach. Star LeBron James is also producing the movie
via his company, SpringHill Entertainment. In March 2019, Sonequa Martin-Green of "Star Trek:
Discovery" and "The Walking Dead" joined the cast, set to play James' wife. Oscar-
and Emmy-nominated actor Don Cheadle will play the villain, a computer algorithm named Al-G
Rhythm. The younger cast of the film includes Harper Leigh Alexander as James' daughter;
and Cedric Joe as the basketball star's youngest son, whose kidnapping fuels the plot of the movie.
Many longtime "Looney Tunes" voice actors worked on "Space Jam: A New Legacy," but there
are also some fresh voices. Comedian Gabriel Iglesias is set to portray Speedy Gonzales,
while Emmy-winning "Euphoria" star Zendaya] will play Lola Bunny.
If "Space Jam: A New Legacy" is anything like the first "Space Jam" from 1996, it's going to feature
a lot of interstellar basketball. The previous film included some of Jordan's contemporaries,
and "A New Legacy" looks to follow a similar approach with big stars of the present day.
Some NBA and WNBA stars will portray themselves as "The Goon Squad":
super-powered hybrid monsters competing against James.
"Okay, let's analyze the competition!"
Anthony Davis plays a birdman named The Brow,
while Damian Lillard is Chronos , a golden robot with clock parts. WNBA talents Diana Taurasi and
Nneka Ogwumike will voice the serpentine White Mamba and spider-like Arachnneka,
respectively, and Klay Thompson is Wet-Fire, who can harness the powers of water and flame.
"A New Legacy" will include other basketball-world cameos as well,
including brief appearances from players Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, and Draymond Green,
as well as "Inside the NBA" host Ernie Johnson embodying a play-by-play commentator.
Also, perhaps to bridge the two "Space Jam" films, one more basketball-playing superstar
might be in the "New Legacy" cast. Don Cheadle told Access Hollywood in May,
"Michael Jordan is in the movie. But not in the way you'd expect."
Warner Bros. and Lebron James' production company, SpringHill Entertainment,
announced in September 2018 that "Space Jam 2" was actually, officially happening. As the film
is set to feature a number of basketball stars, it couldn't shoot much during the NBA season,
which means it took awhile for "Space Jam: A New Legacy" to arrive.
In February 2019, SpringHill tweeted out some concept art
for the movie — James alongside Bugs and Lola Bunny — as well as a release date:
July 16, 2021. That date may have numerical significance. Per sports reporter Rob Perez:
July is the seventh month of the year, and if that 7 is added to the 16, it makes 23.
That's the longtime jersey number worn by both "Space Jam" stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Unlike dozens of other major films, the release date for "A New Legacy" was unaffected by
coronavirus-related theater closures, but the method in which it will reach the public will
be different. In December 2020, Warner Bros. announced that while it would screen its big
2021 movies in theaters, it would simultaneously release them on the streaming service HBO Max
for a period of 30 days. That mid-July date will also fall during or immediately
following the 2021 NBA playoffs, making for a fortuitous promotional opportunity.
As of May 2016, "Fast & Furious 6" director Justin Lin looked to be the front-runner to
helm "Space Jam 2," but that didn't quite happen. In September 2018, the Hollywood
Reporter broke the news that the sequel would be Ryan Coogler's first movie after his directorial
blockbuster triumph "Black Panther"... but as a producer. Handling directorial duties:
Terence Nance, an indie darling and experimental filmmaker/animator responsible for the movie
"The Oversimplification of Her Beauty" and the HBO series "Random Acts of Flyness."
A few months later Nance was out, and Malcolm D. Lee was in. According to The Wrap,
the director of the hit comedies "Night School" and "Girls Trip"
worked from a script with multiple credited screenwriters, not counting the four men
who'd written the original "Space Jam" upon which several of the new film's characters are based.
Among those who took a pass at the script: "Creed II" screenwriter Juel Taylor,
Keenan Coogler (Ryan Coogler's brother and writer of the upcoming "Creed III"), and Terence Nance.
"Space Jam: A New Legacy" is all about mixtures. It's partially animated and partially live-action,
it features LeBron James playing basketball against animal-human hybrids, and it incorporates
familiar characters from multiple franchises. Warner Bros. produced and distributed "Space Jam:
A New Legacy," and that company falls under a large corporate umbrella that also includes its
premiere-day streaming home of HBO Max and the Looney Tunes characters prominently featured in
the movie. Warners also had writers and producers insert a lot of its intellectual property
into the "Space Jam" sequel, creating a vast, interconnected cinematic universe.
The plot of the film legitimately explains it all: James and his son become stuck in
the Server-Verse, a cloud storage space where every movie, character,
and TV under Warner Bros.' control resides. This allows James to commune with the tornado
from the 1939 film version of "The Wizard of Oz," the violent street criminals from
"A Clockwork Orange," characters from HBO's "Game of Thrones," Yogi Bear, the Iron Giant,
and many more, including Pennywise the Clown, Space Ghost, one of the Thundercats.
"Well, that happened." "Blargh!"
While those are surprising additions, "Space Jam: A New Legacy" will not include a character from
the original "Space Jam": the famously lascivious skunk Pepe le Pew. His originally-scripted scene,
in which he reports that the object of his affection took out a restraining order,
has been cut over concerns that it was too problematic.
The original "Space Jam" was a multi-format smash.
Not only did the film earn $90.4 million at the North American box office, but the accompanying
soundtrack album sold six million copies thanks to top 10 singles from Seal, R. Kelly, and Monica.
"New Legacy" will also promote itself musically with a soundtrack full of major contemporary and
breaking artists set for release a week before the film officially opens. Hip-hop superstars
Lil Baby, 24kGoldn, Chance the Rapper, Lil Uzi Vert, and Brockhampton contributed songs,
as did the Jonas Brothers, soul singers John Legend and Leon Bridges, and "Hamilton" and
"In the Heights" breakout Anthony Ramos. The soundtrack also features "About That Time," a
collaboration between White Dave, P-Lo, G-Eazy, and Dame D.O.L.L.A. — the latter of which is the
hip-hop alter ego of NBA all-star and "Space Jam: A New Legacy" cast member Damian Lillard.
Fans of the original "Space Jam" anticipating a trailer for the long-awaited, much-delayed sequel
almost got to see a teaser for the movie way back in July 2018. Just after the end of the
NBA season, the hottest story in basketball was "Where will LeBron James play in 2018-2019?"
According to Brandon Robinson of Basketball Society, James planned to announce his new
team via the then-new Instagram TV video platform. Then, almost immediately after,
James would use the service to drop a trailer of some kind for the still-untitled "Space Jam 2."
King James did go ahead and disclose his move to the Los Angeles Lakers,
but no trailer emerged. Instead, rumors have since swirled that the "secret" teaser existed,
but was held back at the last minute and will likely never see the light of day.
What happened: Basketball Society reported that James and his management
decided against posting the teaser because of that premature leak of the news. A source who worked
on the movie told Robinson that the trailer ended with James wearing a Lakers uniform,
basically making the teaser an announcement of his move to L.A.
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