“Space Jam: A New Legacy” brings to us a brand new chapter of a franchise that smashes the world of the NBA together with Looney Tunes. Warner Bros. has released a brand-new trailer for the live action and animation hybrid where LeBron James takes the starring role playing as himself who recruits the Looney Tunes to help him win his son back from an evil AI, known as AI-G Rhythm (Don Cheadle) in a game of basketball.
The stakes are definitely higher as not only is James playing for his family but the fate of the entire Looney Tunes world, for if he and the rest of the Tune Squad lose, AI-G Rhythm will delete Looney Tunes from the server.
The new trailer also gives us nostalgia in heavier doses. Not only do other WB IPs like The Mask, two iterations of the Penguin, Hanna-Barbera’s Magilla Gorilla, Warboys from “Mad Max: Fury Road,” just to name a few. Even Kong and Iron Giant are in this, and they give each other a fist bump.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for “Space Jam: A New Legacy:”
Welcome to the Jam! Basketball champion and global icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny with the animated/live-action event “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” from director Malcolm D. Lee and an innovative filmmaking team including Ryan Coogler and Maverick Carter. This transformational journey is a manic mashup of two worlds that reveals just how far some parents will go to connect with their kids. When LeBron and his young son Dom are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of professional basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before. It’s Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even “King” James by playing the game their own way.
Khris Davis (“Judas and the Black Messiah,” TV’s “Atlanta”), Sonequa Martin-Green (TV’s “The Walking Dead,” “Star Trek: Discovery”), newcomer Cedric Joe, Jeff Bergman (“Looney Tunes Cartoons”), Eric Bauza (“Looney Tunes Cartoons”), and Zendaya (upcoming “Dune,” “Malcolm & Marie”).
Malcolm D. Lee (“Girls Trip”) directs from a screenplay by Juel Taylor & Tony Rettenmaier & Keenan Coogler & Terence Nance and Jesse Gordon and Celeste Ballard, story by Juel Taylor & Tony Rettenmaier & Keenan Coogler & Terence Nance and Terence Nance. Based on “Space Jam,” written by Leo Benvenuti & Steve Rudnick and Timothy Harris & Herschel Weingrod. The film’s producers are Ryan Coogler, LeBron James, Maverick Carter and Duncan Henderson, and the executive producers are Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Allison Abbate, Jesse Ehrman, Jamal Henderson, Spencer Beighley, Justin Lin, Terence Nance and Ivan Reitman.
“Space Jam: A New Legacy” opens in theatrers and HBOMax (for 30 Days) on July 16, 2021.
