Take away the cosmetics and the obvious clamoring for the sequel for decades and not much is actually known about Space Jam 2. We know LeBron James will star in the movie, a successor to the Michael Jordan-led movie that dominated the childhoods of millions.
We also know that Ryan Coogler, most famous for Black Panther, will be attached to produce the move that will film sometime in the summer of 2019. And director Terence Nance will, well, direct. Nance is highly lauded in Hollywood as a visionary, and so giving him the keys to what’s essentially a Looney Toons vehicle staring a nontraditional athlete-turned-actor is an extremely interesting move.
But again, what appears on the surface may not be the entire story. James, despite his few acting credits, knows the importance of representation in cinema and loved Black Panther, and so it’s no surprise that everyone involved with Space Jam 2 is shooting for the moon on the film.
Nance in particular seems willing to hype up the movie that we know very little about. There are no plot points made public as of yet, and no supporting cast around James to speak of, digital or otherwise. But the director told Vice that the film has the chance to make a huge impact on Hollywood.
“Pretty sure [it’s] going to disrupt everything,” he told me in the fall of last year. “I’m excited about what […] that movie can be.”
Taylor Hosking’s full story about Nance is absolutely worth reading, as his DIY career and work with HBO on Random Acts of Flyness is worth investing some time in. But what’s clear is that, cartoon or not, Space Jam 2 is in some very serious hands. And it seems worth getting excited about what could be a very meaningful film as a result.
