A new video for Space Jam: A New Legacy reveals Zendaya's voice for Lola Bunny. Back in April, Zendaya officially joined the cast of the sequel to the nostalgic 1996 classic Space Jam. The new film is a stand-alone story that sees LeBron James, following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, as he must team up with Looney Tunes characters to win a basketball game.
While Space Jam: A New Legacy does revolve around a current NBA star teaming up Looney Tunes characters, it is not a true sequel or reboot of the original flick. In the new movie, LeBron and his son, Dom (Cedric Joe), find themselves trapped in Serververse, a Warner Bros. content library ruled by a rouge A.I. named AI-G Rhythm (voice by Don Cheadle). In order to save his son and return home safely, LeBron will need to team up with a gang of undisciplined Looney Tunes to win a basketball game against AI-G's digitized champions, known as the Goon Squad. Though veteran Looney Tunes voice actors are expected to reprise their roles, one major character has been recast with a new voice.
In an ESPN video for Space Jam: A New Legacy released to YouTube, titled "The Bunny & The GOAT," Zendaya briefly reveals her voice for Lola Bunny. The entire video is framed in a mock documentary that hilariously builds up the plot to the new movie. First heard around the 1:48 mark in the video, Lola Bunny confidently proclaims that everyone knows that LeBron and the Looney Tunes are part of "Lola's Team," resulting in a disheartened look from Bugs Bunny in the next cutaway. Lola's voice pops back up a few more times throughout the rest of the video, but in each instance, it's clear that she's just as tough-talking as she was in the original flick. Watch the full video below:
The original Space Jam marked the very first appearance of Lola Bunny. In the film, she's presented with a personality that is a combination of a tomboy and femme fatale archetype. Lola is highly athletic, extremely independent and self-reliant; however, on the flip side, she was also created to serve as a romantic interest for Bugs. Her shapely figure and seductive attributes turned her into an animated sex symbol that named her the most attractive cartoon character in the world in 2020. It seems that the new movie is moving away from that depiction.
Space Jame: A New Legacy director Malcolm D. Lee has given Lola Bunny a new look and voice in order to avoid the over-sexualized tones of her depiction in the original film. She seems like a much more well-rounded character, largely in part thanks to Zendaya's vocal performance. From the first glimpse of Lola's new voice, it's clear that she's just as confident and tough as ever, without much of the sexualized depictions, giving a new generation of younger viewers a stronger character to look up to.
Source: ESPN
