Practically since the original Space Jam came out, there has been talk of a sequel. In the late 90s, there was an idea for a sequel with Michael Jordan, but he was not interested in the project. Following that, the idea was largely forgotten up until 2014, when Warner Brothers announced officially that Space Jam 2 was in development. In 2015, LeBron James signed a deal to star in the film, following the reviews for his performance in Trainwreck. Some reviews went as far as to describe his acting as the best from a professional athlete in any film, ever.
To be fair, LeBron is great in the film, and the reviews are not exaggerations. Amy Schumer, the writer of Trainwreck, said that she put LeBron James in the script simply because he was the only basketball player she could think of. Judd Apatow, the film’s director, later met with LeBron and pitched the movie to him. They were unsure of what direction they might go in if they couldn’t get LeBron, but fortunately, he loved the pitch.
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James effortlessly embodies the comedic version of himself presented in the movie. He manages to be both deadpan and charming, attempting to teach lessons via a spoken-word rendition of Gold Digger by Kanye West, and asking Schumer’s character questions like “do you hear his name when you listen to the wind?” LeBron’s acting is impressive, and to some viewers, arguably the best part of the film.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is to be directed by Malcom D. Lee (Girls Trip) and produced by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther). The film is intended to be a reboot of the original as opposed to a direct sequel. It is rare that sequels or reboots ever live up to the originals, particularly when the film in question has the cult classic status that Space Jam has. Although, it is not an impossibility, as franchises such as The Dark Knight, The Godfather, and Toy Story prove. Even movies that came out decades after the original can be as good or better than their source material, for example, Mad Max: Fury Road.
The idea for the original Space Jam came from Michael Jordan’s agent, David Falk. In the early 90s, two Nike commercials were released, called Hare Jordan and Aerospace Jordan, both featuring Michael Jordan alongside Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters. The idea was that even if Jordan wasn’t much of an actor, as professional athletes tend not to be, Bugs Bunny and the other Looney Tunes characters could do most of the talking.
For Warner Brothers, the success of these commercials was proof that the cast of the Looney Tunes still had commercial value, but to Falk, their popularity meant the possibility for a huge marketing opportunity. It was his idea to expand the commercial into a feature film that could sell various products Michael Jordan was associated with, from Wheaties, to Gatorade, to Air Jordan Sneakers. The prominence of shoes has allowed for the film to maintain a special place in the hearts of many sneakerheads to this day.
In the 90s, Warner Brothers was interested in creating movies that did not necessarily follow the typical formula that had been created by Disney. They instead wanted to create animated films that told something other than the typical story of a princess in need of rescue. One particularly stark contrast to Disney and Pixar is that Space Jam features an African American person as its protagonist. Disney didn’t do this in one of their animations until The Princess and the Frog came out in 2009, and Pixar didn’t until just this past year with the release of Soul. But what really sold Warner Brothers on Space Jam, was the chemistry that existed between Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny. And based on LeBron James’ acting track record, it’s fair to assume that he will likely have an even greater chemistry with Bugs and the other members of the Looney Tunes.
Watching Space Jam today brings back waves of nostalgia. The animation style, although perhaps somewhat cheesy now, was actually considered fairly high tech when the movie came out. The animation was a mix of many different mediums, and the film is described as having diversified the animation industry. The original Space Jam actually has even more FX shots than the film Independence Day, which was also released in 1996. But what is even more impressive, is that Space Jam was made incredibly quickly for a movie with so much animation. Production was completed in just 19 months. The animation process was so impressive, that Bill Murray, having been invited to see it, asked to be in the climatic animation heavy basketball scenes, when originally the script only had him there to golf with Michael Jordan at the start.
The trailer for the original Space Jam states to the audience “You’ve never seen anything like it”, and that is a fair assessment of the film. Space Jam is a premise so unique and absurd that it is not quite like anything else, and it is the epitome of 90s culture. Watching the film makes the audience feel like they are back in the 90s themselves, and a moment in time is not an easy thing to embody. Space Jam: A New Legacy, unfortunately, will not have the same novelty, and it seems unlikely that it will be able to recreate the 90s aesthetic as genuinely as the original film does. The original of course, has the obvious advantage of having actually been made in the 90s.
And so, in light of these arguments, what hope does Space Jam: A New Legacy have in the face of its predecessor? Perhaps only the notion that LeBron James seems to be a much more capable actor than Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan has always been LeBron James’ greatest competition in basketball, but with acting, perhaps it can be assumed definitively that LeBron is superior. Of course, it will be uncertain as to who is better in a Space Jam film until Space Jam: A New Legacy is released. And beyond that, the original film was made in just a year and a half. Whereas Space Jam: A New Legacy, has now officially been in the works for five years. A longer production period does not necessarily guarantee a better film, but perhaps it will count for something.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is projected to be released in cinemas and on HBO Max on July 16, 2021.
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