LeBron James shot his Space Jam sequel in the before times, well before there was a bubble and the entire NBA postseason was in it. Still, there’s a lot we don’t know about the movie and what James will do to live up to the legacy of Michael Jordan’s Looney Tunes movie.
Thanks to TMZ, however, we know what James said to the cast and crew once the movie wrapped. The news organization snagged an audio recording of the speech he gave at the end of the movie’s filming, a recording that took nearly a year to see the light of day. You can listen to the full recording of the speech here, but it’s an emotional farewell speech that spoke to the importance of the now-franchise to him and how much he appreciated the people who worked on the film.
“I’m gonna be honest completely with you guys — when I found out about the project, I was like it’s ‘Space Jam’! It’s a movie that I grew up watching. People in the movie that I idolize. I was like absolutely, I gotta do it. There’s no way I can turn down ‘Space Jam’!”
James also reflected on the struggle he endured to find success in the basketball world, calling the project “extra credit” that was well-worth the time and demanding film schedule that was required to complete it.
https://twitter.com/TMZ_Sports/status/1294979207882248194?s=19
Perhaps most interestingly, the images included with the audio recording seem to reveal what the new-look Tune Squad will be wearing when the movie is finally released. An image of James in a very different Tune Squad uniform, wearing the No. 6, accompanied the story about James’ speech. Until now, we’ve only seen a single “A New Legacy” logo on a hat, which James shared in April.
Repost from #LeBronJames: 2021. 🐰🥕 🎥 🍿👑 pic.twitter.com/G499sIvXL6
— Space Jam: A New Legacy (@spacejammovie) April 30, 2020
We know James worked out extensively all summer while filming the movie, meaning lots of early mornings in the basketball court put together for him on set. And while it’s possible the outfit he’s wearing was just something he’s doing real basketball stuff in without the cameras rolling, don’t be surprised if there’s a lot of similar-looking Tune Squad merch available in the leadup to the movie’s release.
