A ‘Space Jam’ Sequel Might Be In The Works

Is Warner Bros. preparing to make Space Jam 2 with NBA superstar LeBron James?

The Internet seems to think the answer is yes, and they have good reason to believe so after Deadline broke an exclusive story yesterday that claimed a Space Jam script has been written by Willie Ebersol, the son of former NBC Sports TV exec Dick Ebersol. However, there’s no guarantee that LeBron James will star in it; his camp has already refuted the story to a writer for Disney-owned ESPN.

UPDATE: In 2012, LeBron James himself tweeted, “Wish I could do Space Jam 2!”

Frankly, it’s hard to think of a time in the past couple decades when Warner Bros. hasn’t had a Looney Tunes feature in development. In fact, comedy writer Jenny Slate recently completed her own Looney Tunes script, according to a NY Times interview.

Looney Tunes scripts like Slate’s and Ebersol’s are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, and they usually don’t make it into production because they’re not very good. Hollywood’s misguided enthusiasm for creating these scripts is ironic because the original shorts have been loved by audiences for eighty years running precisely because they weren’t written with scripts. They were ‘written’ in a visual format by artists, and brought to life by directors with exemplary storytelling skills. It’s certainly possible to write a Looney Tunes script, just as it’s possible to eat a hamburger with your feet, but there are smarter, easier, and better ways to do it.