The original “Space Jam” starring Michael Jordan came out in 1996. The movie placed his Airness alongside Warner Bros’ Looney Tunes characters, back when Bugs, Daffy and company were still the entertainment of choice for kids everywhere. Space Jam was marketing and commercial masterpiece, meshing some of the biggest commodities in the entertainment industry together in way that was basically unprecedented.
Rumors of a sequel have been floating around for many years, dating back to the mid-2000’s, when Kobe Bryant was in his prime. Nothing ever came of those rumors, probably in part due to the reverence everyone had for MJ. Now those rumors are finally coming to fruition, according to an exclusive report at The Hollywood Reporter. Their report states that LeBron James will be the basketball star of choice for the film. It will be directed by Justin Lin, who’s most well-known for directing “Fast & Furious 6” and “Star Trek Beyond.”
While LeBron isn’t quite at his physical peak, he’s not close to retiring either, so perhaps Warner Bros wanted to capitalize before it became too late. Or maybe, as Michael Jordan has faded from the public’s memory, replaced by Kobe, LeBron and now Steph Curry, the movie studio finally felt they could replace Jordan without coming under fire from fans. Either way, we’re excited to see who else gets tapped for the film. Who could replace Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing? Not to mention Bill Murray, who absolutely has to reprise his role.
While we wait for updates and a release date, check out the perfectly preserved website for the original "Space Jam," which was probably cutting edge technology at the time.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]