Warner Bros. is deep into development of the studio’s upcoming animated/live-action hybrid comedy “Space Jam 2.” The film seemed to be close to the beginning of production, with casting underway and a script finished. However, on the eve of production, it appears that “Space Jam 2” is getting a change at the top, with a brand-new director coming on board.
According to THR, filmmaker Terence Nance is now gone as director of the film, replaced by incoming filmmaker Malcolm D. Lee. No reason was given for the change, but if you take the collective work of both men into consideration, it’s quite obvious that the studio and producers were looking for a new vision for ‘Space Jam.’
Lee is probably best known for his last two films, “Girls Trip” and “Night School,” both becoming hit comedies featuring Tiffany Haddish. Previously, he was known for being a fairly prolific filmmaker that has continuously pumped out mid-budget films that tend to make a tidy little profit.
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Contrast that with Nance, who is the experimental filmmaker best known for his film “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty” and the HBO series “Random Acts of Flyness.” He’s an auteur filmmaker with a capital ‘A.’ It shouldn’t be too surprising that his first brush with major studio work didn’t go smoothly, as he seems to be the antithesis of the guy you’d hire to make a comedy film about basketball and the Looney Tunes characters. But you know what they say about hindsight.
‘Space Jam 2’ is the sequel to the 1996 hit film that saw Michael Jordan and his NBA colleagues teaming up with Bugs Bunny and his friends for some interstellar basketball. The sequel seems to follow a similar story, but with updated players, led by LeBron James, who is also a producer. The film is also set to star Don Cheadle and is co-written and produced by Ryan Coogler.
“Space Jam 2” still has an expected release date of July 16, 2021.