With the long-awaited announcement of Space Jam 2 , currently a project in partnership with NBA legend Lebron James and director Ryan Coogler, immediate questions arose about the involvement of the film’s original star, Michael Jordan. While everything is in the very early stages, the door is open for Jordan to involve himself, according to reports from Comicbook.com .
Production for the film is being handled by SpringHill Entertainment, which is jointly owned and operated by James and his longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter, and Carter made it clear when he was questioned that he would love to have Jordan on board for the film, even though he has his doubts that Jordan himself would want to be involved. Talking to t he Hollywood Reporter about potentially involving Jordan, Carte said, “We’ll see, hopefully there will be a role for Michael if he wants it. But Michael Jordan is Michael F*****’ Jordan. It doesn’t matter [if James] calls him, he’s gonna do whatever the hell he wants, which he has earned that right to do.” He later added, “LeBron and Michael are not sitting around talking about Space Jam .”
Carter also gave more details as to the plot of Space Jam 2 , saying that the film is more of a reboot of the franchise rather than a true sequel to the 1996 original, hopefully serving as a launchpad for a new franchise that will have several sequels.
“There’s already been one that was good, we gotta make a film that’s great,” said Carter.
James described the chance to star in Space Jam 2 as a dream come true that he has been working toward his entire life.
“I’ve been hearing about Space Jam 2 since I was 16,” said James, describing the opportunity to take over Jordan’s role as “humbling.”
“He was the greatest thing I’d ever seen,” said James.
“I always wanted to be a superhero. Batman was my favorite,” added James, describing the chance for himself to become a hero with his upcoming leading role. “But I knew I could never be Bruce Wayne. You’ve got to understand, for me that was in no way possible; I never felt like I could be the president of a multibillion-dollar company.”
Space Jam 2 will be James’ second acting role after making his debut in the 2015 film Trainwreck , which saw his acting ability well received despite the mixed reviews the film received. Coogler is coming off of directing one of the year’s most successful films, with Black Panther grossing more than $1 billion.
