The LeBron James-starring sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy is set for a July 16, 2021 release in theaters and on HBO Max. (If you’d rather see the movie about Looney Tunes teaming with LeBron to play basketball and save the universe unspoiled, we won’t blame you if you close the page right now.)
The original Space Jam isn’t exactly a “good” movie, but it was absolutely a cultural touchstone for a generation of kids and teens. I was nine years old, and I remember exactly where I saw it (the Circle Centre Mall theater in Indianapolis) and who I saw it with (my dad and my best friend.)
Making a sequel 25 years later feels both like an attempt to appeal to a new generation of kids and an effort to tap into Millennial nostalgia, which isn’t a bad formula. (Hello, Toy Story franchise.)
And while LeBron was the obvious choice to take over for Michael Jordan, MJ is obviously still around, and as The Last Dance fervor showed, he’s still very much capable of generating a massive amount of interest. Obviously Jordan wasn’t going to have a big part in any new Space Jam project, but would he have any kind of role, even just a cameo?
(SPOILER ALERT)
That was the question Sibley Scoles posed to Don Cheadle on Access Hollywood. Cheadle, playing the film’s main antagonist, offered an answer.
“Michael Jordan is in the movie. But not in the way you’d expect it.”
So, there you go! Michael Jordan will indeed be appearing in A New Legacy. As for Cheadle’s couched statement, it feels like that means Jordan won’t be suiting up to help out on the court a la Bill Murray in the original. Unless that’s what Don Cheadle thinks we’re not expecting? Ah, what a twisted web, this world of spoilers.
In any case, we’re only a few months away from the film’s release, when we’ll get a more definitive answer to the question than the one Don Cheadle provided. (Hopefully the Road Runner is more involved this time, too.)