Original Space Jam Director Tears Apart LeBron James’ Sequel

Though audiences are responding well to Space Jam: A New Legacy, one person that is not thrilled with the film is Joe Pytka, the director of the 1996 original Space Jam. Speaking with TMZ, Pytka, whose work beyond Space Jam was primarily commercials and music videos, did not mence words when talking trash about the new film and in summary said it was boring. According to the outlet, Pytka said that the new film “looked like one of those fluffy dolls you buy at an airport gift shop to bring your kid when your business trip has taken too long.” Pytka also claimed to have not been able to finish the movie in one sitting, taking “5 separate sessions to complete its 2-hour runtime.”

The outlet also reported Pytka as saying that the soundtrack for the new movie was “insignificant” when compared to the original movie’s “classic” soundtrack. Space Jam‘s soundtrack was certified Platinum six times and included singles like “For You I Will” by Monica, “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly, and “Space Jam” by Quad City DJ’s. Pytka also blasted the new film’s treatment of Bugs Bunny himself, saying that his part in the movie was “heartbreaking.” He summed up his feelings on the film saying: “The truth is that LeBron ain’t Michael.”

Pytka apparently did acknowledge that his movie was panned at the time of its release, and that”he’s not mad” about the film but “just thinks it sucks.”

Lebron hasn’t responded to Pytka’s critiques of the movie but did issue a tweet reply to all the “haters” of the film afters its box office totals came in on Sunday. Space Jam: A New Legacy grabbed $13 on its opening Friday on the road to a $31 million weekend overall where it dethroned Marvel’s Black Widow, which plummeted down to $25.6 million in its second weekend. As of this writing Space Jam :A New Legacy has brought in over $53 million at the global box office. Check out what King James had to say on Twitter down below:

Director Malcolm D. Lee previously said he would “never say never” to the a third film in the franchise, previously telling Entertainment Weekly that he could see another film working if the action was moved from basketball to something else, any reason to rope in Dwayne Johnson.