Space Jam: A New Legacy is going to be one weird ride. The sequel to the much-loved 1996 classic replaces Michael Jordan with LeBron James and seems as if it’ll feature every single character in the vast Warner Bros. IP stable. In the first trailer, we saw (among others) Scooby-Doo, the Thundercats, the Joker, the Mask and, in a surreal twist, Alex DeLarge and his droogs from Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.
A new TV spot for the sequel dropped during last night’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, giving us a further look at what’s coming this summer. Much of it was footage we’ve already seen showing Granny and her allegedly hilarious age-inappropriate antics, but there were also some new shots of Tweety’s futile attempt at defense, and a little reference to the Secret Stuff from the original.
One thing of note is that a fan claims to have spotted the Animaniacs in the background of one of the shots, though at this resolution it’s impossible to say whether it’s them or not. It’d be weird if they didn’t make some kind of appearance in the movie, but I’d like to hope they get more than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the crowd.
We also now know the broad strokes of the plot. We’ll see LeBron and his son Dom sucked into a digital world by a malevolent AI (voiced by Don Cheadle), with their only path to escape via a basketball game against a squad of cheat-happy computer-generated opponents. But they won’t be standing alone, as the summary explains:
“It’s Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even “King” James by playing the game their own way.”
Finally, a kid’s movie about the power of being yourself – a crucial message in difficult times.
Space Jam: A New Legacy will be out in theaters and on HBO Max on July 16th.