Last month, Warner Brothers filed to renew its trademarks for Space Jam, the sensational 1996 sports comedy cum space opera that introduced Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan to a generation too young to remember the Looney Tunes and the 1991 Chicago Bulls.
In other words, we can expect a sequel. This isn’t exactly breaking news: last February, Deadline reported that television producer Charlie Ebersol would be directing the forthcoming Space Jam 2, with Lebron James as the lead — a claim that James’ representatives quickly denied.
But, on Wednesday, Warner Brothers announced that it was embarking on an “unprecedented” creative partnership with the basketball player, “spanning all areas of content creation.” The official statement is vague when it comes to exact plans, but it does say that James’ “creative footprint” would “touch all areas” of the studio.
There is no official word that he will star in the Space Jam sequel — or that the Space Jam sequel is even going to happen — but the circumstantial evidence is abundant. Even after his people denounced Deadline’s report last year, James coyly hinted at the possibility.
“I’ve always loved Space Jam,” he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “It was one of my favorite movies growing up. If I have the opportunity, it will be great.”
Speaking purely from a creative standpoint, it’s easy to envision the film. Space Jam‘s storyline tinkered with Jordan’s own controversial narrative — namely his cocksure decision to briefly abandon the Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s for an embarrassing stint in pro baseball — and James’ story is just as compelling. Four years ago, ABC wondered aloud if he was “the most hated man in basketball” after he scandalously ditched the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for the Miami Heat. I’m sure Bugs Bunny can factor into that somehow.
Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Voice Actors
John Oliver had a brief cameo on The Simpsons as Booth Wilkes-John, the Simpsons' British neighbor.Fox; Jamie McCarthy—Getty ImagesEven though Benedict Cumberbatch can't pronounce the word penguin, he joins the cast of The Penguins of Madagascar as the voice of Agent Classified.Dreamworks; Jim Spellman—WireImage/Getty Images30 Rock Star Scott Adsit lends his voice to the lovable robot Baymax in Disney's Big Hero 6Disney; Alberto E. Rodriguez—Getty ImagesFreddie Prinze Jr., the 90s heartthrob and movie star, is back to voice Kanan, a Jedi in Disney’s latest animated series, Star Wars Rebels.Lucasfilm/Disney XD; Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesMark Hamill has had an impressive second act following Star Wars as a prolific and celebrated voice actor giving life to characters such as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender.Fox; Tommaso Boddi—WireImage/Getty ImagesVin Diesel’s voice acting career consists of more than three words. In 1999, he was the voice of The Iron Giant in its eponymous movie.Warner Bros.; Anthony Harvey—Getty ImagesBefore they were comedic giants, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell lent their voices to The Ambigiously Gay Duo, an animated comedy sketch that first got its start on The Dana Carvey Show before moving to Saturday Night Live.Everett; Jason Kempin—Getty ImagesJaleel White, the actor formerly known as Urkel, was the voice of Sonic the Hedghog in the 90s television show Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.DiC Enterprises; Imeh Akpanudosen—Getty ImagesReginald VelJohnson is best known for his nine seasons as Carl Winslow on Family Matters, but more recently he was the voice of Able, a mechanic and fatherly figure in Disney’s Tron: Uprising. Disney XD (2)Darius McCrary, who played the older brother Eddie Winslow on Family Matters, was the voice of Jazz in the 2007 Transformers movie.Dreamworks; Frederick M. Brown—Getty ImagesWill Friedle, who played the underachieving elder brother in Boy Meets World, has voiced a number of memorable characters such as Terry McGinnis, the titular character of Batman Beyond and Ron Stoppable in Kim Possible.Warner Bros.; Barry King—WireImage/Getty ImagesArrested Development star Jessica Walter currently voices Malory Archer in FX’s Archer, but back in the 90s, she was the voice of Dinosaurs matriarch Fran Sinclair.Jim Henson Productions; Alberto E. Rodriguez—Getty ImagesTim Curry lent his comedic talents to voice the eccentric Nigel Thornberry for five seasons of Nickelodeon’s The Wild Thornberrys.ParamountFlea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, voiced the incoherent gibberish of the feral boy Donnie, in The Wild Thornberrys.ParamountAs if being on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow weren’t enough, LeVar Burton was also the voice of Kwame on Captain Planet and the Planeteers.
Hanna-Barbera; Albert L. Ortega—Getty ImagesBruce Willis had a brief voice acting cameo as the voice of Spike in the 2003 movie Rugrats Go Wild.Paramount; Jeffrey Mayer—WireImage/Getty Images
