LeBron James is getting the last laugh at his “haters” by touting the success of the new sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy. In the months leading up to the release of the movie, Space Jam 2 had been plagued with various problems and controversies. Back in April, James personally came under fire for a controversial tweet that led to many people calling for a boycott of the new movie. Some went so far as to theorize Space Jam: A New Legacy would bomb as a result of the boycott.
As it turns out, the new Space Jam is a success. With a projected $32 million opening weekend, the sequel is the biggest yet for Warner Bros. during the pandemic, even surpassing movies like Godzilla vs. Kong. The critical reception has been a bit more mixed, but nevertheless, Warner Bros. – and James – are thrilled with how well Space Jam: A New Legacy has been performing at the box office. On Saturday, James addressed those who boycotted the movie by touting its box office success.
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“Hi Haters!” LeBron James said on Twitter, attaching a link to the news along with the grinning emoji.
Hi Haters! ???? https://t.co/ayPGnBZGQU
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 17, 2021
This is ultimately good news for a movie that had dealt with various issues during production. One of the biggest controversies pertaining to Space Jam 2 was the omission of Pepe Le Pew. Though original director Terence Nance had planned to feature the cartoon skunk in the movie, Malcolm D. Lee had Pepe totally scrubbed from the sequel when he took over as director. Those criticizing the decision grew more frustrated when the trailer revealed that the violent gang from A Clockwork Orange made it into the movie, as did Pennywise the clown and other characters aimed for adults.
Lola Bunny’s redesign has also drawn criticism from fans unhappy to see the character getting a makeover since last seeing her in 1996’s Space Jam. A sneak peek scene featuring Porky Pig in a rap battle also had others swearing they wouldn’t watch the sequel. Altogether, you’ve got a lot of people boycotting Space Jam 2 for a variety of different reasons, so it was hard to tell how the movie was going to perform by the time it was released. Fortunately for James and everyone else involved,
In Space Jam: A New Legacy, LeBron James stars as a fictionalized version of himself. Similar to the original movie, the NBA star must team up with the Tune Squad to defeat a team of digitized basketball champions created by the evil Al-G Rhythm (Don Cheadle) to rescue his son (Cedric Joe). The sequel also stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Khris Davis, Ceyair J. Wright, and Harper Leigh Alexander. Zendaya also stars as the voice of Lola Bunny with other members of the voice cast including Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Bob Bergen, Candi Milo, Gabriel Iglesias, and Fred Tatasciore.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is currently playing in theaters and on HBO Max. The original Space Jam is also available on the streaming service. This news comes to us from LeBron James on Twitter.
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