LeBron James was keeping his body in tip-top shape last summer while filming Space Jam 2. ESPN reported the details today after a 112-103 win for King James’ squad on national television. The Laker forward had a disappointing first year in Los Angeles and resolved to not let it happen again. There were murmurs that the basketball superstar had a half-court there on the set to get practice in, but no one could have imagined that he’d ramp things up so much while closing in on his 35th birthday. Now, he’s crossed that threshold and is putting up a career year in the assist department. The man who will lead the Tune Squad onto the court next year looks like the most dominant force in the sport again. That training while shooting the film probably has something to do with that.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Malcolm D. Lee will be sitting in the directing chair and James is happy to see the project coming together after the film took so long to get to this stage.
“The Space Jam collaboration is so much more than just me and the Looney Tunes getting together and doing this movie,” James said to The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s so much bigger. I’d just love for kids to understand how empowered they can feel and how empowered they can be if they don’t just give up on their dreams.”
The NBA Champion also talked about being excited to have Ryan Coogler along for the ride in Space Jam 2. “I always wanted to be a superhero. Batman was my favorite. But I knew I could never be Bruce Wayne. You’ve got to understand, for me that was in no way possible; I never felt like I could be the president of a multibillion-dollar company,” James mentioned in 2018. [Coogler] gave this generation’s kids something I didn’t have when I was a kid, and that’s a superhero movie with an African-American cast.”
As was the case in the original movie, there will be other human co-stars helping LeBron and his Tune Squad teammates. King James will be joined by Avengers: Endgame‘s Don Cheadle, Star Trek: Discovery‘s Sonequa Martin-Green. NBA and WNBA stars will also be along for the ride. Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers), Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors), Chris Paul (Oklahoma City), Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), Chiney Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks), and Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks) are all signed on to appear.
Space Jam 2 is scheduled to debut on July 16, 2021.
