“Space Jam: A New Legacy” is the new standalone sequel to to 1996’s “Space Jam”. LeBron James stars as a fictionalized version of himself.
Let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film.
- Space Jam: A New Legacy is a 2021 American live-action/animated sports comedy film
- It is directed by Malcolm D. Lee
- It serves as a standalone sequel based on 1996’s Space Jam
- It is the first theatrically-released film to feature the Looney Tunes characters since Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
- The film is also a combination of live-action, traditional hand-drawn animation, and 3D CGI effects
- The film stars basketball player LeBron James as a fictionalized version of himself
- Along with Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Cedric Joe in live-action roles, while Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, and Zendaya headline the Looney Tunes voice cast
- Set in a shared Warner Bros. virtual space multiverse
- The film follows James teaming up with the Looney Tunes to win a basketball match against digitized champions to rescue his son from a rogue AI
- Talks for a Space Jam successor began after the release of the first film, which Joe Pytka would have returned to direct
- Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone signed on as the animation supervisors
- But eventually the deal fell through due to Michael Jordan’s refusal to return
- Several possible spin-offs focusing on other athletes, including Jeff Gordon, Tiger Woods, and Tony Hawk, were also discussed, but never came to fruition
- After several years of languishing, a LeBron James-led sequel was officially announced in 2014
- With filming beginning under Terence Nance in June 2019 around Los Angeles
- After a few weeks into filming, Nance left the project and Lee was hired to replace him in July 2019
- Space Jam: A New Legacy was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on July 16, 2021, both in theaters and on HBO Max for a month after its theatrical release
- Critics praised the animation, but criticized the story and overuse of Warner Bros. IPs
- A sequel to Space Jam was planned as early as 1996, shortly after the original film was released in theaters worldwide
- As development began, Space Jam 2 was going to involve a new basketball competition between Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes and Berserk-O!, a new alien villain who was planned to be voiced by Mel Brooks
- Artist Bob Camp was tasked with designing Berserk-O! and his henchmen
- Joe Pytka would have returned to direct and Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone signed on as the animation supervisors
- However, Michael Jordan did not agree to star in a sequel
- According to Camp, a producer lied to the studio by claiming that Jordan had signed on in order to keep development going
- Without Jordan involved with the project, Warner Bros. was not interested, and cancelled plans for Space Jam 2
- The potential sequel reentered development as Spy Jam and was to star Jackie Chan in a different script
- The studio was also planning a film titled Race Jam which would have starred Jeff Gordon
- Additionally, Pytka revealed that following the first film’s success, he had been pitched a story for a sequel that would have starred professional golfer Tiger Woods, with Jordan in a smaller role
- Pytka explained how the idea came from an out-of-studio script conference, with people who worked on the original film allegedly involved
- Producer Ivan Reitman was reportedly in favor of a film which would again star Jordan
- The follow-up films were ultimately cancelled in favor of Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
- A film titled Skate Jam was in early development with Tony Hawk in the starring role
- Plans were underway for production to begin immediately following the release of Looney Tunes: Back in Action
- They were canceled due to the poor financial performance of said film despite improved critical reception to Space Jam
- In February 2014, Warner Bros. officially announced development of a sequel that would star LeBron James
- Charlie Ebersol was set to produce, while Willie Ebersol wrote the script
- By May of the same year, James was quoted as saying, “I’ve always loved Space Jam. It was one of my favorite movies growing up. If I have the opportunity, it will be great”
- In July 2015, James and his film studio, SpringHill Entertainment, signed a deal with Warner Bros. for television, film and digital content after receiving positive reviews for his role in Trainwreck
- By 2016, Justin Lin signed onto the project as director, and co-screenwriter with Andrew Dodge and Alfredo Botello
- Professional player Kobe Bryant also expressed an interest in directing the film, though he was uninterested in a cameo appearance
- By August 2018, Lin left the project, and Terence Nance was hired to direct the film
- In September 2018, Ryan Coogler was announced as a producer for the film. SpringHill Entertainment released a promotional teaser image officially announcing the film
- With production set to begin in 2019 during the NBA off-season
- Filming was to take place in California within a 30 mile radius of Los Angeles
- By April 2019, Coogler and Sev Ohanian were rewriting the script
- Final screenplay credit would ultimately go to Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, Terance Nance, Jesse Gordon, and Celeste Ballard
- Prior to production, the film received $21.8 million in tax credits as a result of a new tax incentive program from the state
- Principal photography began on June 25, 2019
- On July 16, 2019, it was announced Nance was leaving the project because he and “the studio/producers had different takes on the creative vision for Space Jam 2”, and that Malcolm D. Lee would serve as his replacement
- Bradford Young, who was set to serve as cinematographer, also left the project and was replaced by Salvatore Totino
- Among locations used for filming included the Sheats–Goldstein Residence owned by James Goldstein, including turning its tennis court temporarily into a basketball court for the shooting
- Production wrapped on September 16, 2019
- The production spent at total of $183.7 million filming in California, receiving $21.8 million in tax rebates from the state
- James held a farewell meeting talking about how he idolized with the first Space Jam film when he was a kid in Akron, Ohio, when the production wrapped, which was later leaked on August 16, 2020, along with pictures of James with his #6 Tune Squad outfit
- A scene filmed under Nance’s direction in June 2019 involving Pepé Le Pew attempting to flirt with a bartender (portrayed by Greice Santo), only to be rebuffed, was deleted
- This decision was later met with backlash among many fans, who accused the studio of double standards by removing the character while allowing a cameo of Alex and his droogs, a gang that commits severe violence and sexual assaults in the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, to be retained
- The film’s trailer revealed that Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam will be allowed to appear with their trademark guns in the film
- Since HBO Max’s Looney Tunes Cartoons, a ban had been enacted to not depict fire weapons due to all of the mass shootings and gun violence in the United States
- In March 2020, photos taken on set and a brief recording of the wrap party were leaked online, revealing that the film will feature characters from other Warner-owned properties
- In April 2020, James officially revealed the title and logo of the film, as Space Jam: A New Legacy
- Don Cheadle stated that LeBron had an injury he suffered during production, while the filmmakers had a rigorous schedule and shot 14 hours a day
- Lucasfilm’s visual effects division Industrial Light & Magic was hired to create the visual effects for Space Jam: A New Legacy
- This is the second collaboration with the Looney Tunes in using ILM for visual effects since Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
- In the United States and Canada, Space Jam: A New Legacy was released alongside Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
- It is projected to gross around $20 million from 3,950 theaters in its opening weekend
- On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 31%
- Based on 124 reviews
- With an average rating of 4.8/10
- The website’s critics consensus reads, “Despite LeBron James’ best efforts to make a winning team out of the Tune Squad, Space Jam: A New Legacy trades the zany, meta humor of its predecessor for a shameless and tired exercise in IP-driven branding”
- According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 36 out of 100
- Based on 35 critics, the film received “generally unfavorable reviews”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A–” on an A+ to F scale
- This is the same score as the first film
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