Space Jam 2 Is Happening With LeBron James
It was announced earlier today that Space Jam 2 is a go with LeBron James. Not only that but it's currently being written by Justin Lin, Andrew Dodge and Alfredo Botello. Lin is eyeing to direct and produce the movie as well.
Lin made his name directing four of the Fast and Furious movies from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006 to Fast & Furious 6 in 2013. Lin also directed the third installment of the Star Trek franchise: Star Trek Beyond that comes out July 22, 2016. There have been rumors about a Space Jam sequel for years but not it looks like it's officially going to happen.
Back in 1996 Space Jam was a gamble in Hollywood. Just because Michael Jordan is great at basketball doesn't mean he can act. Nevertheless, the movie made over $90 million and is still beloved by many to this day.
If you adjust for inflation in 2016 James would have to make over $260 million to draw even with Jordan. Is that the only barometer to determine if the movie is a success? No.
Space Jam was a beloved movie because of anything from the nostalgia of the Looney Tunes characters to seeing the megastar Michael Jordan on the screen to the smaller cameos of Bill Murray, Charles Barkley and Larry Bird.
Mix in the fact that in November of 1996 Jordan's Bulls just won their fourth NBA championship and finished the regular season with a regular season wins record of 72-10 and it's no wonder that the movie holds up.
The pressure of living up to Michael Jordan is nothing new to James but sequels in Hollywood are always hard to do properly.
Hopefully James can recreate some of the moments from the original and make it his own. James already has one role under his belt, starring in Judd Apatow's romantic comedy Trainwreck in 2015. No details yet as to when the movie will be released but expect more details in the coming days.