Development A sequel to
Space Jam was planned as early as 1997, shortly after the original film was released in theaters worldwide. As development began,
Space Jam 2 was going to involve a new
basketball competition with
Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes and Berserk-O!, a new alien villain who was planned to be voiced by
Mel Brooks. Artist
Bob Camp was tasked with designing Berserk-O! and his two henchmen, and with the proposed casting in mind, Camp designed Berserk-O! to resemble Brooks.
Joe Pytka would have returned to direct while
Tony Cervone signed on to return as animation director, this time joined by his creative partner
Spike Brandt instead of
Bruce W. Smith. However, Jordan did not agree to star in a sequel. According to Camp, a producer lied to the studio by claiming that Jordan had signed on in order to start pre-production. Without Jordan involved with the project, Warner Bros. was uninterested and cancelled plans for
Space Jam 2. The potential sequel reentered development as
Spy Jam and was to star
Jackie Chan in a different script. The studio was also planning a film titled
Race Jam which would have starred
Jeff Gordon. Producer
Ivan Reitman was reportedly in favor of a film which would again star Jordan. The follow-up films were ultimately cancelled in favor of
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), though Gordon did make a cameo in
Back in Action. A film titled
Skate Jam was in early development with
Tony Hawk in the starring role. Plans were underway for production to begin immediately following the release of
Looney Tunes: Back in Action, but were cancelled due to the poor financial performance of said film despite improved critical reception to
Space Jam.
Resurgence In February 2014, Warner Bros. officially announced that development of a sequel that would star
LeBron James.
Charlie Ebersol was set to produce, while Willie Ebersol wrote the script. That same month, James was quoted as saying, "I've always loved
Space Jam. It was one of my favorite movies growing up. If I have the opportunity, it will be great." In July 2015, James and his film studio, SpringHill Entertainment, signed a deal with Warner Bros. for television, film and digital content after receiving positive reviews for his role in
Trainwreck. By 2016,
Justin Lin signed onto the project as director, and co-screenwriter with Andrew Dodge and Alfredo Botello. Professional player
Kobe Bryant also expressed an interest in directing the film, though he was uninterested in a cameo appearance. In September 2018,
Ryan Coogler was announced as a producer for the film. SpringHill Entertainment released a promotional teaser image officially announcing the film, with production set to begin in 2019 during the
NBA off-season. Filming was to take place in California within a
30 mile radius of Los Angeles. By April 2019, Coogler and
Sev Ohanian were rewriting the script. Final screenplay credit would ultimately go to Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, Terance Nance, Jesse Gordon, and Celeste Ballard. Prior to production, the film received $21.8 million in tax credits as a result of a new tax incentive program from the state. On July 16, 2019, it was announced Nance was leaving the project because he and "the studio/producers had different takes on the creative vision for
Space Jam 2", and that
Malcolm D. Lee would serve as his replacement.
Bradford Young, who was set to serve as cinematographer, also left the project and was replaced by
Salvatore Totino. Among locations used for filming included the
Sheats–Goldstein Residence owned by
James Goldstein, including turning its tennis court temporarily into a basketball court for the shooting. Production wrapped on September 16, 2019. The production spent at total of $194.7 million filming in California, receiving $21.8 million in tax rebates from the state. A scene filmed under Nance's direction in June 2019 involving
Pepé Le Pew attempting to flirt with a bartender (portrayed by Greice Santo), only to be rebuffed, was deleted. This decision was later met with backlash among many fans, who accused the studio of double standards by removing the character while allowing a cameo of
Alex and his
droogs, a gang that commits severe violence and sexual assaults in the 1971 film
A Clockwork Orange, to be retained.
Malcolm McDowell, who played Alex in the film, was asked permission to include a
cameo appearance of his character and he granted it. Scenes where
Bugs Bunny and LeBron visit the worlds of
Pokémon,
The Wizard of Oz,
The Iron Giant,
Friends,
ThunderCats, with concept art done by animation director Devin Crane and illustrator Joel Parod, but were cut from the final film. The
Game of Thrones scene was originally longer, with concept art by
David Álvarez, but was cut due to the
series ending its run around that time.
Sylvester Jr. and
Hector the Bulldog were planned to appear in the film as part of the Tune Squad, but were cut. The film's trailer revealed that
Elmer Fudd and
Yosemite Sam would be allowed to appear with their trademark guns in the film; since
HBO Max's
Looney Tunes Cartoons, a temporary ban had been enacted to not depict firearms due to mass shootings and gun violence in the United States. In March 2020, photos taken on set and a brief recording of the wrap party were leaked online, revealing that the film would feature characters from other Warner-owned properties. In May 2020, James officially revealed the title and logo of the film, as
Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Animation and visual effects Both visual effects and computer animation for the
Looney Tunes characters were provided by
Lucasfilm's visual effects division,
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). This is the second collaboration with the
Looney Tunes in using ILM for visual effects since
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). While the 2D animation was provided by Company 3 Animation, and Tonic DNA, who previously worked with Warner Brothers on
Looney Tunes Cartoons, additional CGI effects were also provided by
Luma and
Cinesite, who previously provided them in the first
Space Jam. In January 2020, veteran
Walt Disney Animation Studios animators
Mark Henn,
Tony Bancroft, and the latter's brother Tom were hired by
Warner Animation Group to work on the film. In March 2020, James announced that work on the film's animation had commenced, while also revealing that the production had largely been unaffected by the
COVID-19 pandemic as most of the remaining work involved animation. That same month, Brandt was hired back on to the project as animation director while Cervone was also hired back on to work in the film's animation department. Director Malcolm D. Lee also learned a lot of experience working on animation from Brandt, like harkening the Looney Tunes' designs back to the ones he remembered, and their animated expressions. In July 2020,
Dan Haskett, who has worked on the
Looney Tunes franchise since 1979, was hired to work in the animation department as well. Matt Williames, who had not worked with Warner Bros. since
Looney Tunes: Back in Action, started doing animation for the film in August of the same year. In May 2020, Ole Loken, who worked extensively on animation hit
Klaus, announced that he would serve as an animator on the film. The film includes both
traditional and
CG animation, making it the first film from Warner Animation Group to incorporate the former, which was for the most part tradigitally created with
Toon Boom Animation's Harmony software.
Music In January 2020,
Hans Zimmer was announced as the composer for the film. By April of the same year,
Kris Bowers was announced to be working with Zimmer as co-composers. However, in January 2021, it was officially confirmed that Bowers would receive solo credit. The soundtrack was released on July 9, 2021, and labeled by
Republic Records and
WaterTower Music featuring two lead singles:
Lil Baby and
Kirk Franklin's "We Win", and "Just for Me", by
Saint Jhn featuring
SZA. Other artists were also featured on the soundtrack, including
John Legend,
Lil Wayne,
Saweetie,
Jonas Brothers,
24kGoldn,
Lil Uzi Vert,
Chance the Rapper,
Joyner Lucas,
Big Freedia,
G-Eazy, and
Kash Doll.
2 Unlimited's "
Get Ready for This", one of the songs from the first film, is briefly heard in one scene with Al-G and Dom. "
Sirius", an instrumental song by
Alan Parsons Project that serves as the entrance anthem for the
Chicago Bulls, is heard briefly when Sylvester brings
Michael B. Jordan to the Tune Squad. ==Marketing==