It’s time to slam, and welcome to the jam again. The much-awaited and highly anticipated Space Jam sequel is heading to theaters and HBO MAX this summer. Early this morning, Warner Bros released the first big trailer for Space Jam: A New Legacy, finally unveiling everything that has been teased since the film's announcement in 2014. The trailer comes from Warner Bros, following a tweet on April 2nd, teasing the film's trailer debut for April 3rd, as well as posters showing the leading squad of Space Jam: A New Legacy.
The trailer begins with LeBron James and his son, living their lives out in California. LeBron's son, Cedric James, has big dreams of being a video game developer, but a chance encounter in a large computer labyrinth sends Cedric away into a digital domain with LeBron in tow. LeBron is sent into a digital universe, passing through planets belonging to various Warner Bros franchises. He arrives to see Don Cheadle, playing the malevolent being, AI-G. AI-G challenges LeBron to a game of basketball as a means to get his son back. Trapped, AI-G sends LeBron to The Looney Toons world, where he materializes in 2D cartoon form and meets Bugs Bunny. The Toons remember their last go around on basketball and quickly assemble a dream consisting of Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, and the classic bunny herself, Lola.
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The trailer climaxes into a mammoth basketball arena, showing a plethora of Warner Bros franchises arrive as spectators, including The Flinstones, King Kong, and the dragons from Game of Thrones. LeBron and the dream team transition from 2D animation into 3D animation, facing their rivals, The Goon Squad. The trailer sees hijinks and wild basketball action ensue, concluding with Granny getting in on the basketball action.
Space Jam: A New Legacy was originally announced in 2014, and after floating around the Warmer Bros studio lot, the film was finally greenlit and principal photography occurred in 2019. Space Jam: A New Legacy stars LeBron James as Himself, Don Cheadle as AI-G, and Sonequa Martin-Green. Space Jam: A New Legacy stars Eric Bauza as Bugs Bunny and Jeff Bergman as Sylvester. Space Jam: A New Legacy is directed by Malcolm D. Lee (Night School, GirlsTrip) and produced by Ryan Coogler (Creed, Black Panther). Screenplay credits include Keenan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Black Panther) and Juel Taylor (Creed II, Boomerang).
Space Jam is regarded by its fans as the best and most successful basketball film in cinema history, arriving at the height of the golden age of basketball and Michael Jordan's career. The combination of animation and live-action, coupled with the absurd plot and soundtrack, has allowed the first film to withstand the test of time. Space Jam: A New Legacy will have mammoth shoes to fill, as basketball is a different sport today and the Looney Toons have been relatively under the radar in a climate filled with superheroes and mammoth cinematic universes.
In fact, Space Jam: A New Legacy marks the first cinematic appearance of The Looney Toons since 2003’s Looney Toons: Back in Action. The expectations are remarkably high for Space Jam: A New Legacy and the generational gap will undoubtedly prove to be a challenge. However, with Ryan Coogler as producer and Keenan Coogler as a writer, it’s hard to imagine Space Jam: A New Legacy dropping the ball.
Space Jam: A New Legacy releases July 16th, 2021 both in theaters and on HBO MAX on the same day.
Source: Warner Bros|YouTube
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