After years of teasing a sequel to the original Space Jam film from 1996, Warner Bros. released the first trailer for the upcoming Space Jam: A New Legacy. The movie will star LeBron James as himself who teams up with the Looney Tunes to win a basketball game against a group of aliens in order to save his son Dom (Cedric Joe) from an evil living computer program named AI-G Rhythm (Don Cheadle). The film seems to be serving as a standalone sequel to the original Space Jam, as Michael Jordan will not appear and the Looney Tunes in this are implied to be completely different versions from the ones that were seen in the first movie, as they don’t seem to have any knowledge of how to play basketball, something they definitely knew how to do in the original film.
The trailer opens with LeBron talking to his son Dom at their very fancy house. LeBron explains to Dom that basketball camp is next weekend and offers to teach him how to get better, as he has amazing potential on the court. Dom states that he doesn’t want to play basketball and rants to his father that he never lets him be himself. As Dom storms out of the elevator that they are in, LeBron finds out that Dom exited on the wrong floor and follows his son. As LeBron chases his son through the mysterious room, Dom suddenly disappears, much to his father’s horror. LeBron approaches the device that teleported his son away and is soon transported to a dimension in which various worlds that house popular films and television shows pop-culture such as Game of Thrones and The Wizard of Oz are shown. LeBron meets AI-G Rhythm, who reveals that he has entered a world called the “Serververse.” LeBron demands his son back, but AI-G Rhythm states that if he wants his son back, he will have to win against him in a game of basketball.
LeBron is then sent to the Looney Tunes world and is transformed into a cartoon character where he meets Bugs Bunny (Jeff Bergman). The trailer soon cuts to LeBron and Bugs attempting to start a basketball team in order to get his son back where Bugs decides to bring in the other Looney Tunes to be the members of his new team. Daffy Duck (Eric Bauza) tells Yosemite Sam to shoot the ball, to which the latter literally uses his guns to shoot the basketball, hitting the duck in the process with his bullets. LeBron and the Looney Tunes are then seen being transported to a basketball court where they are transformed from cartoon characters into live-action, turning LeBron back to his old self and the Looney Tunes into CGI characters. The court is then shown to house several famous Warner Bros characters who serve as the spectators. AI-G Rhythm introduces the rival team the Goon Squad, much to the Looney Tunes’ shock. LeBron’s wife (Sonequa Martin-Green) says that he needs to win this game and get their son back. The trailer ends with LeBron attempting to score a basket only to be stopped by an invisible wall before the title card is finally shown. The stinger of the trailer also showcases the character Granny (Candi Milo) easily scoring a basket to the surprise of both Bugs and LeBron.
Space Jam: A New Legacy will simultaneously be released in theaters and the streaming service HBO Max on July 16.
