There’s been talk for a while now about dusting off the old SPACE JAM IP as a vehicle for LeBron James. Two things have happened this week that have made it seem like it might actually happen.
First, he got a bunch of good notices for his turn (as himself) in TRAINWRECK. Now, I didn’t think he was particularly funny, but fans and non-fans alike seemed to respond well to his overprotective, DOWNTON ABBEY-watching best friend character.
Then today, it comes out that Warner Bros. and LeBron are partnering for as-yet-undisclosed projects in the film, TV, and digital content arenas. Presumably, most of these will probably be behind-the-scenes gigs for LeBron, but the fact that this comes so close on the heels of TRAINWRECK makes me think they want to get him in front of the camera as well.
Capital New York reporter Alex Weprin noted that WB filed a new SPACE JAM trademark last month, which makes it all but certain that they’re lining it up for a James vehicle. I mean, they’re dusting all the old properties off, and the kids who were young enough to enjoy SPACE JAM are old enough that the nostalgia for that film has improbably snowballed and made this do-over kinda a smart play. Like the original, it’s a great way to shoehorn the old animated characters into a contemporary setting, and with LeBron, you have an athlete that is at least in the same ballpark (no pun intended) of skill and infamy as Michael Jordan. If he can land a joke against the green-suited fellow standing in for Bugs Bunny, all the better.
And before we all take turns shittalking the original, let’s just remember that Seal’s “Fly Like An Eagle,”“Hit ‘Em High”, “Basketball Jones,” and “I Believe I Can Fly” all originated from that double-platinum selling soundtrack. And that Danny DeVito’s villain calls Bill Murray “Dan Aykroyd” towards the end. And that Bill Murray’s in it. And that the video game was the only basketball game available at the time that would actually let you play as Michael Jordan.
What you guys think of LeBron vs. Bugs in SPACE JAM 2? Do you have a better idea of how to use Bugs, Daffy, & Co. in a modern film outside of SPACE JAM?
