The long-awaited “Space Jam” sequel is finally reality.
LeBron James has teamed up with “Black Panther” directer Ryan Coogler for a follow-up flick to the iconic 1996 Michael Jordan-Bugs Bunny project.
“The ‘Space Jam collaboration’ is so much more than just me and the Looney Tunes getting together and doing this movie,” James told the Hollywood Reporter. “It’s so much bigger. I’d just love for kids to understand how empowered they can feel and how empowered they can be if they don’t just give up on their dreams. And I think Ryan did that for a lot of people.”
James will star in the movie, marking his first role since appearing in Amy Schumer’s 2015 “Trainwreck.”
The three-time NBA champion has steadily been compiling a lengthy Hollywood resume with his production company, SpringHill Entertainment, including a Muhammad Ali documentary, an unscripted talk series, a CW series about a young black teacher at a failing school in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio, and a Netflix series starring Octavia Spencer as Madam C.J. Walker, the nation’s first black, self-made female millionaire.
He’s also working on a three-part documentary called “Shut Up and Dribble” about the “changing role of athletes in the current political and cultural climate against the backdrop of the NBA,” inspired by Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s modified “stick to sports” insult amid his feud with President Trump.
James said he loved Coogler’s “vision” for “Black Panther,” which earned more than $1.3 billion at the box office and is expected to snag multiple Oscar nominations.
“So for Ryan to be able to bring that to kids, it’s amazing,” the NBA star told the Hollywood Reporter.
Terence Nance (“Random Acts of Flyness,” “The Oversimplification of Her Beauty”) is set to direct the sequel, which is slated to premiere next year.
