Taglines: They’re all Tuned up for a rematch.
Space Jam: A New Legacy Movie Storyline. Basketball champion and global icon LeBron James wishes for both of his sons, Darius and Dom, to follow in his footsteps, but Dom, a child prodigy in computer software, instead dreams of becoming a video game developer. LeBron’s wife, Kamiyah, advises him to respect Dom’s wish. While showing an interest in Dom’s game, Dom discovers a glitch in his character after performing a specific move which causes the character to be deleted, to his chagrin.
Later, LeBron is invited with his family to the Warner Bros. studio to discuss a movie deal, but LeBron dismisses the idea, while Dom shows an interest in the studio’s software, particularly its state-of-the-art A.I., Al-G Rhythm. Dom expresses an interest in a future with Warner Bros, leading to a blowup argument with his father at basketball camp when LeBron refuses to let him give up on the sport.
Al-G, who has secretly become self-aware and desires more recognition from the world, lures the two to the basement and traps them in virtual reality. Taking Dom as his prisoner, he orders LeBron to assemble a basketball team made entirely from fictional characters owned by Warner Bros to compete against his own team in a day’s time, telling him that he will only be released if he wins, and sends him through the virtual space where he lands in Tune World. Meanwhile, Al-G talks to Dom and begins to turn him against his father by playing on his resentments and helping him develop and upgrade himself and his game, which he secretly intends to use against LeBron.
LeBron finds Tune World deserted save only for Bugs Bunny, who explains that Al-G persuaded the rest of the Looney Tunes to leave their world and explore other realities. Using a spaceship belonging to Marvin the Martian, LeBron and Bugs travel to different worlds based on Warner Bros properties such as DC Comics, Harry Potter, Casablanca and Game of Thrones to locate and recruit the rest of the Looney Tunes, such as Daffy Duck, Lola Bunny and Porky Pig, into the “Tune Squad.”
Over Bugs’ objections, LeBron insists on coaching his new players on the fundamentals of basketball. The Tune Squad meet with Al-G’s team, the Goon Squad, comprised of upgraded avatars of several active professional basketball players with superpowers and led by Dom. To further the stakes, Al-G livestreams the game and abducts countless viewers, including LeBron’s family, into the virtual reality, and says that if the Tune Squad loses, the viewers will remain there for eternity and the Looney Tunes will be deleted permanently.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is a 2021 American live-action / animated sports comedy film directed by Malcolm D. Lee from a screenplay by Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, Terence Nance, Jesse Gordon, and Celeste Ballard. The film is a standalone sequel to Space Jam (1996), and is the first theatrically-released film to feature the Looney Tunes characters since Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003).
The film stars basketball player LeBron James as a fictional version of himself; Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Cedric Joe star in live-action roles, while Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, and Zendaya headline the Looney Tunes voice cast. The film follows James and his son, Dom, as they are drawn into a Warner Bros.-themed virtual multiverse by a deceitful artificial intelligence named Al-G Rhythm. James encounters the Looney Tunes characters and enlists their aid in a basketball game against Al-G’s avatars to rescue Dom and earn their freedom.
Talks for a Space Jam successor began following its release. Director Joe Pytka was attached to return in that capacity, and Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone signed on as the animation supervisors, but eventually the project was stalled due to Michael Jordan’s refusal to return. Several possible spin-offs focusing on other athletes, including Jeff Gordon, Tiger Woods, and Tony Hawk, were also discussed, but never materialized. After several years in development hell, a LeBron James-led sequel was officially announced in 2014 with filming under Nance taking place from June to September 2019 around Los Angeles. After several weeks into filming, Nance left the project in July 2019 and was replaced by Lee.
Space Jam: A New Legacy premiered in Los Angeles on July 12, 2021, and was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on July 16 simultaneously in theaters and through HBO Max for one month. The film has grossed $151.8 million worldwide and received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized the amount of product placement in the film and found it lacking in its predecessor’s self-referential humor, while the animation, visual effects, sense of nostalgia, and performances were praised.
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee
Starring: LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Cedric Joe, Khris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, Kimberly Brooks, Ceyair J Wright, Harper Leigh Alexander, Xosha Roquemore, Stephen Kankole
Screenplay by: Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, Terence Nance, Jesse Gordon, Celeste Ballard
Production Design by: Akin McKenzie, Clint Wallace, Kevin Ishioka
Cinematography by: Salvatore Totino[c]
Film Editing by: Bob Ducsay
Costume Design by: Melissa Bruning
Set Decoration by: Melisa Jusufi
Art Direction by: Julien Pougnier, Eric Sundahl, Clint Wallace
Music by: Kris Bowers
MPAA Rating: PG for some cartoon violence and some language.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: July 12, 2021 (Los Angeles), July 16, 2021 (United States)
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