There have been rumors abound for a few years about the potential of a Space Jam remake with LeBron James in the lead role.
James has even made it be known his affinity for the original with Michael Jordan and his desire to star in a remake of the film, even posting a mysterious fake poster on his Instagram in the past year.
Well it has been made official today, Space Jam 2 is a go with LeBron James as the star.
CONFIRMED: 'Space Jam 2' will feature LeBron James. pic.twitter.com/jSEjXAD7rX
— SN Ohio (@SN_Ohio) May 2, 2016
The movie will be directed by the Fast and Furious Director Justin Lin (no relation to Jeremy I’m told). A timetable has not yet been determined for filming or its release as of yet.
The original Space Jam was released in 1996 and was centered around Michael Jordan and his comeback to the NBA after a year and a half in baseball. He basically fell down a wormhole into an animated world and helped lead the Looney Tunes to victory over the Monstars to save the world as we know it. It sounds ridiculous and it is but as a kid in the 90s it was the greatest thing ever and grossed over 200 million dollars worldwide.
It will be interesting to see how they will tweak the story line for the LeBron James version, and which current NBA players will team up with him to save the Looney Tunes and the world. I’m guessing Carmelo, CP3, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh?
Although nobody has the sort of worldwide adoration and god-like nature of Michael Jordan, especially in the 1990s, LeBron clearly has more developed acting chops and should help deliver a solid reboot of the film.
I, full disclosure, am an ardent LeBron James fan and supporter, but I honestly feel like Steph Curry would have been a better choice for this role as he relates more with todays youth. Either way this is fun news for basketball fans young and old and I for one am looking forward to it.