According to multiple reports, Los Angeles Lakers forward, LeBron James is having trouble recruiting NBA stars for his Space Jam 2 film which is slated to release in 2021.
In September it was announced that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler signed on to produce the Space Jam sequel. Terence Nance will be directing the film, in which James is set to star.
Space Jam 2 is the sequel to the Michael Jordan starred Space Jam that starred Bugs Bunny, Lola Bunny, Daffy Duck and names in sports and Hollywood like Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, Bill Murray, Danny Devito Shawn Bradley and Larry Bird.
LeBron James confirmed during NBA All Star Weekend that he and his SpringHill Entertainment would begin filming the project this summer.
But he needs actors in the film!
Milwaukee Bucks star and 2019 NBA MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, aka the “Greek Freak,” told ESPN that he turned down a role in “Space Jam 2” because “I don’t like being Hollywood.”
THR reports Kevin Durant, despite being Team Nike, isn’t interested because he’s pursuing his own Apple series “Swagger.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says other players have turned down James because “you put me in the movie where you’re the star, I’m going to be the one you’re dunking on.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter: James and Warner Bros. are facing a surprising complication for the long-awaited sequel to Michael Jordan’s 1996 movie with Bugs Bunny: Sneaker contracts.
Since the original film is based on the iconic “Hare Jordan” commercial by Nike, players who have shoe deals with different companies may not be available, including Steph Curry (Under Armour) and James Harden (Adidas).
So who’s left?
“I would love to do it,” retired NBA player, Charles Oakley told me in February.
“I love the part with Mike, it was just great. I would love to be around him for a week or two.”
“Being in Space Jam 1 and seeing how things went, you would never know what would happen while you were doing Space Jam,” Oakley told me.
“We got to play basketball everyday on the court, and it was so much fun.”
Oakley is also friends with James and said it too guts to re-make the iconic Space Jam film. “I’m glad he was tough enough to do it,” he said.
“I don’t know why he would do something Mike did, but you gotta do what make you go”
Carmelo Anthony may also be joining according to Syracuse.com’s Geoff Herbert.
“Melo could certainly help him out,” wrote Herbert.
“As he’s sponsored by the Air Jordan brand, and he appears to be available. Anthony hasn’t played in the NBA since the first month of the 2018-19 season when he appeared in 10 games for the Houston Rockets; the Rockets traded him to the Chicago Bulls, who waived him.
Anthony is also a longtime friend of James and they were teammates for two gold medal-winning Olympics. ‘Melo also has acting experience, appearing in “Sons of Anarchy,” “Nurse Jackie” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.”
A 10-time NBA All-Star, Carmelo Anthony signed with the Houston Rockets this summer after clearing waivers in a trade that shipped him from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks.
Anthony has averaged 24 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 assists in his career with the Thunder, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets.
The buzz of Space Jam 2 became a thing last summer when James was deliberating on where he’d land in NBA free agency last summer.
The rollout changed, but I was told that LeBron James was supposed to announce his Lakers decision via in a trailer.
The trailer’s plot focused on Lakers memorabilia stolen and James saving the day by helping to retrieve stolen memorabilia.
James would appear wearing Lakers gear and letting everyone know where he’d be taking his talents to this fall.
Change of plans happen and here we are now! Space Jam 2 will drop in 2021.
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