LeBron James has spent his entire career facing comparisons to Michael Jordan, and they were hardly going to go away after he signed on to star in a Space Jam sequel. The first trailer for A New Legacy exploded online yesterday, and it’s pretty much exactly how you’d expect a follow-up to the beloved live-action/CGI hybrid to look with 25 years of technological advancements.
The setup is roughly the same, as James is drawn into a basketball game with the fate of the universe at stake, forcing him to team up with the Looney Tunes to take on a squad assembled by Don Cheadle’s villain. Fans seen to have gotten a kick out of the first promo, but it’s also stirred up a conversation about double standards after Pepé Le Pew was dropped from the movie due to his heavy-handed amorous nature, yet it’s fine to include the Droogs from A Clockwork Orange who literally raped and killed people in Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 classic.
Not only that, but King James is now finding himself getting roasted by longtime Space Jam supporters for an altogether different reason. When listing his ideal teammates, the leading man names Superman, Gandalf, King Kong and the Iron Giant, but as you can tell from the reactions below, the internet was quick to point out that his predecessor only needed Bill Murray and Seinfeld‘s Wayne Knight to save the day.
LeBron can't even do Space Jam without assembling a super team. Michael Jordan won that shit with Bill Murray and Newman from Seinfeld pic.twitter.com/bYld2B4aQi
— Mike (@ThatsJustPr1me) April 3, 2021
Lebron: I need superman and gandalf to beat the monstars in space jam
Bill Murray: pic.twitter.com/Cgh1FBO48m
— Pizza Dad (@Pizza__Dad) April 3, 2021
Jordan beat the monstars with Bill Murray running point but LeBron needs Superman to beat Don Cheadle?!
— 💜 (@ElEpicoRu) April 3, 2021
Bill Murray > LeBron's team list#SpaceJam pic.twitter.com/nCcuMS74v6
— Mindd Kidzag (@MinddKidzag) April 3, 2021
The GOAT debate is over after that new Space Jam trailer.
LeBron out here trying to recruit Superman and Gandalf and MJ went out and beat wholesale Monstar ass with Bill Murray and Newman from Seinfeld. pic.twitter.com/5PXgJIhzzd
— Danny V (@dmv8286) April 3, 2021
Jordan beat the Monstars with Bill Murray https://t.co/UVzeUumLOr
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 3, 2021
As you can see here according to the trailer of Space Jam 2, Lebron tries to recruit his own “Elite” team to defeat the bad guys to save his son. Michael Jordan on the other hand only needed Bill Murray to save the Looney Tunes. 🤙🏼 pic.twitter.com/bWavYSmzAO
— Nikola ♌️🇷🇸 (@SrbiNiko) April 3, 2021
everybody talking about michael jordan beat the monstars with just bill murray like that wasn't bill murray in his prime
— yedoye (@yedoye_) April 3, 2021
Hoping Michael Jordan Wayne Knight and Bill Murray show up at the end of Space Jam like pic.twitter.com/Ga3NzaDVtT
— Looks like silence (@LooksLykSilence) April 3, 2021
bill murray should’ve won an oscar for space jam pic.twitter.com/V2APGcsOR4
— rob harvilla (@harvilla) March 27, 2021
Space Jam: A New Legacy looks like it’ll provide diverting enough family entertainment, and we can at least bank on James being a better actor than Jordan given his scene-stealing supporting performance in Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, but the comparisons between the two basketball icons clearly aren’t ending anytime soon.