LATEST NEWS

So, 'Space Jam 2' May/May Not Be in Development with LeBron James

by Alex Billington
February 21, 2014
Source: Deadline

Believe it or not, it's happening. Earlier in the week we posted a Space Jam mod for the NBA 2K14 game, showing just how much fans, oddly, still love that movie. Well, now they're finally, actually, officially making a sequel. Deadline reports that NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol's two sons are working on developing a sequel to Space Jam, tentatively just Space Jam 2, and have already looped in Miami Heat star LeBron James for a role. This may or may not be officially in the works at WB, tying in the animated Looney Tunes characters that get into the mix with the star NBA players. The original 1996 movie starred Michael Jordan.

How far along in development is Space Jam 2? A bit further than we expected. Charlie Ebersol ("The Great Escape", "The Moment", "Race to the Scene") is producing at his production company, The Company, from a script by his brother Willie Ebersol, who won an Emmy for the London Olympics but this is his first feature screenplay. It has been almost 18 years since the first Space Jam movie hit theaters, meaning the audiences that first went nuts and fell in love with it are all grown up by now. But with the NBA still going strong they can certainly select a line-up of talented and very well-known players to rotate into this new movie. No other players besides LeBron James have been mentioned, however I'm sure we'll start hearing about others soon.

We will keep you updated on any Space Jam 2 news, but it seems like it's definitely happening, despite a delay of 18 years. The original, while not the best, is still a goofy classic that shows how much fun can be had in successfully combining animation and professional sports. Let's hope this next one turns out just as good.

UPDATE!: Big changes to this story since it first hit this weekend. Apparently Deadline, or their source, jumped the gun on this one. Various interviews have attempted to confirm the news, but sources are now refuting it. A source at USA Today told them "[LeBron] James has had no discussions about participating in any Space Jam sequels" and that nothing is happening yet despite the original report. The Playlist also points out an interview at the Miami Sun Sentinel where James is quoted telling them: "I haven't heard anything about it. Like I said, I've always loved Space Jam. It was one of my favorite movies growing up. If I have the opportunity, it will be great. But that's news to me… We'll see what happens." Very interesting.

It's possible the project is in the works, and this could just be a case of the producers wanting/expecting LeBron James to end up starring, but for now this is all a bit premature. We'll be keeping watch for updates.

Tweet

Find more posts: Development, Movie News

12 Comments

New comments are no longer allowed on this post.