The novel coronavirus pandemic has shutdown TV and movie productions around the world, which means that the film industry will likely be affected by this crisis for the next year or two. The movies that were set to hit theaters soon have been pushed back, and these production delays will probably keep them from meeting their release deadlines. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like that will be the case for the highly-anticipated Space Jam sequel. Star and producer LeBron James claims that the film is still very much on track for its 2021 release.
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James recently appeared on the Road Trippin’ podcast, hosted by Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, and Allie Clifton. Both Frye and Jefferson were teammates of James on the Cleveland Cavaliers when the team won the NBA Finals in 2016. During the podcast, James was asked about how the current shutdowns would affect Space Jam 2, and he assured everyone that things were moving along just fine.
“Space Jam has always been scheduled to come out in June of 2021,” James said. “So we’re kind of ok. And a lot of it right now is animation, so being indoors is actually great for us. So we’re still on. Just like everything in the world, everything is slowed down a little bit, but we’re still on target. I’m looking forward to it. During this time right now, I wish we could release it right now, man, and give people some things to watch in their households. But we got until next year, next summer. We’re excited about it.”
Just like like the original Space Jam, the sequel will be a mix of live-action and animation. James and the other NBA stars participating in the movie will be filmed normally, while the Looney Tunes characters will be added in digitally. By the way James talks about the production, all of the live-action work has been completed, so now it’s just about adding the cartoons.
The first Space Jam was released in 1996 featured Michael Jordan in the lead role, joined by the likes of Charles Barkley, Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues, David Ewing, Shawn Bradley, Wayne Knight, Larry Byrd, and Bill Murray.
Space Jam 2 is currently set to hit theaters on July 16, 2021.
