LeBron James opens up about 'Space Jam' sequel in new 'EW' interview

In the cover story written by Derek Lawrence, James opened up about why he was finally ready to accept the challenge of starring in and producing a Space Jam sequel 15 years after he originally passed up the opportunity. 

"In my younger days, part of my thinking was 'Space Jam was so good, how can I top this?'" the four-time champion said. "There's always going to be conversations about LeBron trying to do everything Michael [did]. But I've gotten older, and you know who you are. You know what you stand for."

Acclaimed filmmaker Judd Apatow also lent a voice to James' acting prowess based upon his experience directing him alongside Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in Trainwreck (2015): 

"Amy wrote LeBron into the script almost as a joke, because he was the dream person we thought we'd never get. Bill Hader said he was really funny and a great guy when he hosted SNL. One weekend, Bill and I took him to lunch and pitched him the idea for his character. He got it immediately. I thought if he wasn't funny we could get something out of him, but then he shows up and his acting is very strong and he has this hilarious take on how he wants todo it. He's funny from take 1."

In case you have actively avoided pop culture for the last 25 years, Space Jam starred a retired Michael Jordan recruited by Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Tunes characters, as they need to win a basketball game against the vaunted Monstars in order to reclaim their freedom from evil amusement park owner Swackhammer (voiced by Danny DeVito).

The end credits found Bill Murray and Larry Bird at a Chicago Bulls game, where Jordan returned after a brief stint in baseball.

Lawrence detailed a similar plot for A New Legacy: 

"Playing a heightened version of himself, James struggles to relate to Joe's Dom, who's much more interested in creating games than playing them. When Dom's tech skills draw the attention of a CGI humanoid named Al G Rhythm (Don Cheadle), the father-son duo get sucked into the Warner 3000 entertainment "Server-verse," with the A.I. kidnapping Dom in the hopes of stealing some of the King's followers (IRL he has about 80 million on Instagram)."

It was reported back in June 2019 that NBA stars such as Lakers teammate Anthony Davis and WNBA icon Diana Taurasi would join in the fun: 

As if that wasn't enough star power, the project boasts Ryan Coogler (Black Panther, Fruitvale Station) as a producer and Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip), cousin of Spike Lee, as the director.

The long-awaited Space Jam sequel will finally arrive July 16 both in theaters and on HBO Max.