Films don't get much weirder than Space Jam. It's a movie where Michael Jordan teams up with the Looney Tunes to save the cartoon characters from becoming slaves at an intergalactic theme park.
Of course, the two sides settle their differences with one high-stakes game of basketball.
Rumors about a sequel to the 1996 film have been floating around for a while now, but it looks like it now might be happening for real, thanks to director Justin Lin and writer Andrew Dodge. The Hollywood Reporter writes that the duo is in talks with Warner Bros. to bring Space Jam 2 to the big screen, with LeBron James set to star.
LeBron's involvement is nothing new. His company signed a deal with Warner Bros. last year, which led to much of the latest round of speculation. As for Lin, he certainly is more than qualified to direct a film about intergalactic basketball. He directed four of the seven Fast & Furious films, with his most recent work being the upcoming Star Trek Beyond. He's no stranger to special effects-heavy films, so he shouldn't have a problem directing Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Toons gang.
The film is said to be in the early stages, with Lin and Dodge still writing the script. That means that the film isn't set to arrive any time soon, but fans of the first movie should nonetheless be pleased. It's actually surprising it has taken this long for a Space Jam 2 to get off the ground. The first film brought in more than $230 million worldwide, making a sequel a no-brainer.
If Space Jam 2 does get off the ground, it will just be one of several projects Lin and Dodge have worked on together, the other two being an untitled buddy coppy film and drama for HBO.
No word yet on what other NBA stars might appear in the film. The first movie included major players like Charles Barkley and Larry Bird, along with actor Bill Murray. Here's hoping Space Jam 2's website is as great as this (somehow) still functioning Web page for the original.
