A new Bugs Bunny movie is seemingly in the works at Warner Brothers. Debuted in 1938, the iconic cartoon character gained popularity in a series of animated Looney Tunes shorts, becoming a cultural icon and the studio's official mascot. He made the jump to live-action/animation in 1996's Space Jam alongside Michael Jordan. After Space Jam's box office success, Bugs would return to the hybrid genre in Looney Tunes: Back in Action alongside Brendan Fraser. Years later, the beloved 1996 film finally received a proper sequel, Space Jam: New Legacy, which saw the Looney Tunes return alongside LeBron James.
Now, two years after Space Jam: Legacy was a box office failure, it appears Bugs Bunny is returning via a live-action/animation hybrid once again. On his website, Robert Rugan announced he has "been hired to write a new hybrid live-action/animation Bugs Bunny movie for Warner Brothers." He appears to have deleted the post shortly after, and the project has yet to be officially announced by the studio. Rugan's resume includes 2004's Alice's Misadventures in Wonderland and Netflix's The Curse of Bridge Hollow.
How A New Bugs Bunny Movie Could Reinvent The Iconic Character
Bugs Bunny's history with live-action/animation hybrids has been checkered, to say the least. Space Jam was a box office success that is now regarded as a nostalgic classic, though it was never a critical favorite, Conversely, Looney Tunes: Back in Action was a box-office bomb, though it did receive slightly more positive reviews from critics. Space Jam: Legacy, which was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max during the pandemic, was both a box office disappointment and a critical failure.
Considering this checkered history, the new Bugs Bunny movie is likely left with no choice but to reinvent the iconic character in the realm of live-action/animation hybrid. The problem with past Looney Tunes live-action/animation hybrid movies is that they strip Bugs Bunny of his signature anarchical and slapstick style in favor of more family-friendly humor. If the next Bugs Bunny movie has any chance of succeeding with both critics and audiences, perhaps it should embrace this element of the character that has long defined the iconic Looney Tunes shorts.
Source: Robert Rugan