'Space Jam 2' has started shooting

For many 90s kids, Warner Bros live-action/animated comedy crossover Space Jam, which starred Michael Jordan and the cast of Looney Tunes in a basketball tournament to save Earth, was one of the best movies of their childhoods. For years now, fans of the cult flick have been clamouring for a sequel. Sadly, Michael Jordan is no longer in his prime. But the good news is that we are getting a sequel. Even better: production is already well underway.

The follow-up. Space Jam 2, will reportedly star Los Angeles Laker and former NBA champ LeBron James, and see him act alongside the animated characters. According to James himself, filming is already taking place, with the movie set to be released in the summer of 2021.

Taking to Twitter, James wrote: "Man this really just hit me! I’m really shooting Space Jam 2!! This is so surreal and doesn’t even make sense to me! Where I come from man and what I saw growing up this doesn’t add up to me!! I’m truly grateful and beyond blessed. This is CRAZINESS. [sic]"

In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter on the subject of the film, James revealed the opportunity to work with director Ryan Coogler was too good to pass us, stating: "I loved his vision for Black Panther."

He added: "The Space Jam collaboration is so much more than just me and the Looney Tunes getting together and doing this movie. It's so much bigger. I'd just love for kids to understand how empowered they can feel and how empowered they can be if they don't just give up on their dreams. And I think Ryan did that for a lot of people."

A Space Jam sequel has been in the pipeline since 1997. The plot was allegedly supposed to consist of a basketball competition between the Looney Tunes and a new villain named Berserk-O. Veteran cartoonist and Ren and Stimpy co-creator Bob Camp signed up along with director Joe Pytka. However, Michael Jordan declined to reprise his original role and the project was canned.