Anticipation for the upcoming Space Jam: A New Legacy has reached a new high with the recently released trailer. The movie will once again find the iconic Looney Tunes competing in a high-stakes basketball game. This time around, it is NBA superstar Lebron James helping them out instead of Michael Jordan.
Along with bringing a long-awaited sequel to a beloved movie, the trailer also showed that it will be jam-packed with famous IP from all over Warner Bros.'s history. This has led to a lot of fan theories about what fans can come to expect when the movie is released on July 16.
The Looney Tunes Are Forgotten
When Lebron James first enters the "Server-verse" he meets the villainous Al-G (Don Cheadle). After explaining that they will play a game of basketball in order for James to get his son back, Al-G sends him to the Looney Tune world, which he refers to as "the rejects."
This could hint at the fact that the movie will be commenting on how the Looney Tunes are not as popular as they once were. With all the Warner Bros. IP shown in the trailer, Looney Tunes can get overlooked by modern audiences. The story could center around the WB's original stars trying to become relevant once again.
Daffy Duck Promoted
Daffy Duck is one of the most popular of the Looney Tune characters and was featured prominently in the first Space Jam movie. While he wasn't a very skilled basketball player, he nevertheless was on the original Tune Squad. However, it looks like he might be in a new position this time around.
Throughout the movie, Daffy is shown in a sports coat while the rest of the Tunes are dressed in their basketball jerseys. This has led fans to suspect that Daffy is promoted to the coach of the team. Perhaps this is out of his own insistence or it's a trick to get him out of the way.
Social Media Critique
It's fascinating to watch the new trailer and think about just how much the world has changed since the first Space Jam was released, not only with what the movie is able to achieve with visual effects now but also some of the things that are such a big part of our society that didn't even exist back then.
It looks like social media will play some sort of role in the plot of the movie. During the game, it appears as though the scoreboard is counting "followers" instead of points. There are some rumors that the plot of the movie revolves around Al-G stealing James' social media followers, which could serve as a commentary on social media in general.
Jumanji-Esque Story
In the first movie, Michael Jordan is abducted by the Looney Tunes after they pull him through a golf hole into Tune Town. Appropriately, this movie looks to be going for a more digital type of world with the "Server-verse" and it could be inspired by another recent family-adventure franchise.
At the beginning of the trailer, James' son is seen playing some sort of basketball game on his phone. However, the court in the game ends up closely resembling the one James and the Looney Tunes eventually play on, suggesting the characters enter the video game, similar to Jumanji.
Commentary On Streaming
The use of Warner Bros. IP in the trailer has inspired somewhat of a mixed reaction from fans, some of whom feel it is just cashing in on popular titles, similar to Ready Player One. However, the fact that all this content is flooding the movie might have a deeper meaning than fans think.
One fan theory has suggested that the movie is some sort of commentary on the current streaming culture, especially with a villain whose name is Al-G. Rhythm. Perhaps Space Jam 2 is delivering a message about how algorithms rob people from choosing for themselves, which seems to be a theme of the movie.
Good Vs. Evil
While the Monstars, the intimidating alien team from the original, were memorable villains, there seems to be an interesting batch of new adversaries this time around. Al-G introduces the "Goon Squad" which will apparently combine the skills of several NBA and WNBA players with superpowers.
But while there are a lot of famous characters to see in the background of these shots, it looks like the crowd behind the Goon Squad is mostly made up of classic WB villains. This could suggest the bad guys are supporting the villain team while WB's hero characters are supporting the Tune Squad.
Lebron James' Son Creates The Goon Squad
The movie is also said to explore the theme of fatherhood through James' relationship with his son. The trailer hints at the conflict between father and son in the movie as James pushes his son to develop his skills as a basketball player while his son wants to forge his own path, seemingly through computers.
Later in the trailer, there is a brief image of James' son sitting on the bench with the Goon Squad. Some have concluded that Al-G recruits James' son to build his team, playing on the boy's true passions.
Looney Tunes Are Scattered
Despite all the other famous characters taking the spotlight in this trailer, the Looney Tunes will be front and center in the story. However, fans are suspecting that the classic cartoon characters might not be the tight-knit group they once were.
Rumors have suggested that the Looney Tunes had a falling out prior to the events of this movie and that they are scattered throughout the "Server-verse". The trailer shows Marvin the Martian's ship flying around to different WB worlds so the movie could be popping in at various places to get the team back together.
Recreating The Original
Al-G's plan in the movie is still not clear and it seems odd that he would challenge James to a basketball game for no reason. That would just be a lazy way of recreating the plot from the first movie. However, that could be the whole point.
One possibility for Al-G's plan is that he is trying to recreate the original Space Jam in order to get people interested in the Looney Tunes again. From there, he might have some dastardly or greedy intentions with the famous cartoon characters.
Michael Jordan Cameo
Lebron James feels like the perfect figure to step into the human role in the new Space Jam. While it could be debated among basketball fans how James and Michael Jordan compare, James' own legacy is strong enough to make this movie work.
However, given the trailer's indication that it will be playing into nostalgia and the beloved characters of the past, fans are guessing Jordan will appear in this movie as well. Though it would likely be a cameo at the most, given the success of The Last Dance and a renewed interest in Jordan, it would be a thrill to see him turn up.