The upcoming sequel to the beloved live-action/CGI hybrid family comedy, Space Jam, led by NBA star LeBron James (Trainwreck) is slowly getting off the ground, finding a handful of stars from both the WNBA and NBA, but also reportedly struggling to get bigger names from both leagues to feature in the film, including Golden State Warrior MVP Steph Curry, who turned down an appearance in the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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In an interview with The New York Times, Curry revealed that though he was a fan of director Ryan Coogler’s work and the Black Panther co-writer/director is also a Golden State Warrior fan and is at every playoff game, scheduling conflicts prevent the 31-year-old three-time NBA championship from making an appearance in the film.
“I know LeBron and Ryan Coogler are going to be doing amazing things. It’s going to be awesome,” Curry said in the interview. “Part of it was in terms of things that I had going on. It was just the timing, to be honest. Not being able to commit. And I know Ryan really well. We had a lot of conversations about it.”
Though the script is apparently set to spend less time with players on the big screen as its predecessor, one other problem in recruiting players to appear in the film reportedly stems from sneaker contracts, with the Nike brand attached to the first film and the new one, whereas Curry is attached to Under Armour in a contract through 2024, his Golden State teammate Kevin Durant looking for other entertainment projects and Houston Rockets star James Harden acting as a spokesperson for Adidas.
Though the long-awaited sequel won’t feature Curry, Durant or Harden, the film has landed an impressive roster so far with the Portland Trailblazers’ Damian Lillard, New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis and Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson, as well as the Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi and Los Angeles Sparks’ siblings Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike, with Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead) set to portray James’ wife.
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Space Jam 2 will star LeBron James instead of Michael Jordan with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler onboard to produce. Terence Nance (Random Acts of Flyness, The Oversimplification of Her Beauty) is set to direct instead of Justin Lin (Fast & Furious franchise) who was one of the directors originally attached to the project. Pick u the original Space Jam on Amazon.
In the original, Michael Jordan teamed up with Looney Tunes characters to battle a group of animated aliens on the court. Space Jam went on to gross $230 million worldwide and besides Jordan, included some of the NBA’s biggest stars like Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Patrick Ewing. Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes will now team with James on the court to battle an unknown entity.
Space Jam 2 will arrive in theaters on July 16, 2021. Production will begin this summer during James’ NBA off-season.
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