The world is a confusing, frightening place right now. Everything is changing, everything is in danger and nothing is reliable. But there is one thing you can rely on. No matter what, come hell or high water, Space Jam 2 will be released in July of 2021.
You can all breathe easier now.
LeBron James, who will lead the long-awaited (?) sequel, sat down with the Road Trippin’ Podcast where he discussed how the massive COVID-19 pandemic has affected the production and release of the film. Here’s what he had to say:
Space Jam has always been scheduled to come out in June of 2021. 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.
So it sounds like the live-action element of the production has concluded, meaning that animators are busy at work crafting Bugs Bunny’s alley-oop skills and Daffy Duck’s three-pointer technique. James seems confident that things are still “on target” but it’s incredibly likely that the animation process has slowed due to the coronavirus outbreak, since there isn’t really any industry that hasn’t sent employees home for the time being. Space Jam 2 might not be as impacted as, say, The Batman but it is definitely being affected too. Still, I would expect it to be released close to its scheduled debut.
I’m really curious about Space Jam 2 and not just because I am a huge Lakers fan. I am curious to see how they update the entire idea behind the movie. The first film was released in the 90s when young audiences still had at least a passing knowledge and interest in the Looney Toons characters. But modern kids couldn’t be bothered with that franchise, I think. Does any child really talk about Looney Toones anymore? So how will Space Jam 2 combat that? Will they add new properties, also owned by Warner Bros, to the film? There have been rumors that other WB characters such as Pennywise and The Mask could appear in the film but those are all rumors and should be treated as such. But I do hope that someone new is added alongside LeBron otherwise I just don’t know if kids today will give a damn.