Audiences of a certain age have a special place in their hearts for Space Jam, but when you take off the nostalgia-tinted glasses, the truth is that it isn’t a particularly good movie. That being said, it remains a hugely popular one, as evidenced by the fact that it soared straight towards the top of Netflix’s most-watched list almost as soon as it became available on the streaming service.
Next year sees the release of long-awaited follow-up Space Jam: A New Legacy, with LeBron James stepping into Michael Jordan’s shoes in a sequel that probably holds more interest for the parents of the target audience as opposed to younger viewers themselves, but that likely isn’t a major concern for the studio given how lucrative the nostalgia market has proven to be in recent years.
Recently-leaked footage revealed that the Mask, Pennywise and even Lord Voldemort are just some of the names set to appear in A New Legacy, but that still doesn’t match up to the truly bizarre talent assembled for the original, which saw Michael Jordan, Danny DeVito, Larry Bird and Bill Murray all starring in a live-action/CGI hybrid based on a basketball game that had implications for the entire universe.
In a recent interview that he inexplicably conducted from his own bathtub, Bill Murray admitted that while he enjoyed his time working on Space Jam, he still doesn’t feel that he ever got the credit he truly deserved for his game-winning assist.
“Well, I made the movie Space Jam with Michael Jordan, and people forget I got the assist on the game-winning basket. It’s so easily forgotten. I stole the ball. I made the pass. I got nothing. I wasn’t even interviewed after.”
While the Ghostbusters star’s comments are clearly tongue-in-cheek, fans have been keeping their fingers crossed that he might show up in the Space Jam sequel, and given his famously eccentric reputation, you can’t entirely rule out the possibility of another Bill Murray cameo just yet.
Published: May 15, 2020 07:41 am