It’s been over 20 years since Space Jam was released on the big screen. It has now been reported by the Hollywood Reporter that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is teaming up with LeBron James for a sequel.
Coogler will produce the film, with James starring and executive producing along with his production company SpringHill Entertainment. The sequel will be directed by Terence Nance, director of experimental film The Oversimplification of Her Beauty and creator behind HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness.
“The Space Jam collaboration is so much more than just me and the Looney Tunes getting together and doing this movie,” said James to the Hollywood Reporter. “I’d just love for kids to understand how empowered they can feel and how empowered they can be if they don’t just give up on their dreams. And I think Ryan did that for a lot of people.”
SpringHill Entertainment also released a teaser image via social media, listing Bugs Bunny as “point guard” and James as “small forward”.
Talks of a sequel gained momentum back in February 2014 when Warner Bros announced that they were working on one that could potentially star LeBron James. A few months later, James denied his involvement but mentioned his love for the original film, calling it, “one of my favourite movies growing up.”
The original film was released back in 1996 and had the Loony Tunes recruit retired basketball player Michael Jordan so that they could win their freedom in a match against a group of aliens, the MonStars. It went on to earn $230 million worldwide. For the film’s 20th anniversary, Bugs Bunny and the MonStars appeared in a Foot Locker advert along with Blake Griffin.
The sequel is scheduled to be released in 2019, though it’s also suspected that the numbers revealed in the teaser image just might be the release date – 23 January 2021.
