The Space Jam: A New Legacy trailer dropped on Saturday and grabbed people’s attention instantly. One big reason is the Looney Tunes‘ return in the beloved hit film series that initially featured Bulls legend Michael Jordan. Now we’ve got a different story, a new star in LeBron James and a slew of characters just beyond the Looney Tunes universe.
Instead of limiting the film to the same ground as the original movie, this one is reaching into the Warner Archive to pull out a wide array of properties, from HBO series to the classic Hanna Barbera cartoons.
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It’s a full slate of cameos, giving people reminders of Ready Player One and causing some confusion due to some of the characters included. It is a bit of a shock to see a murderous interdimensional monster clown on the sideline of a basketball game, but we’re here!
Scroll down and see the surprising nostalgia treats within the sequel and get puzzled over the large number of troubling characters that likely shouldn’t be in a children’s movie.
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is one of the earliest references to land in the trailer. Once LeBron James is sucked into the Warner Bros. world, he is thrust by planets dedicated to each franchise. Oz and the sepia-toned Kansas are one of them.
Later we see some flying monkeys among the spectators at the basketball game, likely meaning we’ll see more from this one in the final film.
Game of Thrones and HBO
Is it strange to have The Night King, the dragons and the zombie army of the White Walkers at a cartoon basketball game? Yes. But they are here and Game of Thrones even gets its own entire planet. But will it find a better ending along the way?
There could also be an argument that the cowboys from Deadwood appear alongside the Game of Thrones characters. Yes, it is likely Westworld being represented, but we can dream!
Iron Giant
The beloved animated classic The Iron Giant makes another nostalgic return. The giant robot, originally voiced by Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel, was a major part of Ready Player One and now returns to take in some basketball among the other characters. He also almost kills Fred Flintstone, which is sorta like attacking the Pope? Right?
King Kong, The Original
Now this could be confusing given the release of Godzilla vs. Kong last week. But be clear, this is the classic, older version of the titular ape. It could be the one from the Peter Jackson remake, it could be the one from the Universal Studios ride or it could be the old school Kong from the golden age. What we know is that it isn’t the version from the 1970s.
This is also Kong’s second appearance between this film and Ready Player One. He has a key part in the latter film, so we’ll have to see if he does more this time around.
Hanna Barbera
The classic characters from Hanna Barbera, including a lot of rarities and cult favorites, might be the biggest standouts of the bunch. While they were once rivals and competition for the Looney Tunes brand, they’re all on the same side now.
We’ve got The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby and the Mystery Machine team, Yogi Bear, Peter Potamus, Magilla Gorilla, Frankenstein Jr.’s robot, Penelope Pitstop, Space Ghost, Mightor, Captain Caveman and plenty of others.
DC Comics
DC Comics is well represented in the audience at the basketball match-up. While Batman himself isn’t visible and likely wasn’t approved to appear, his entire rogues gallery was included, starting with several versions of The Joker, The Penguin and the controversial Mr. Freeze from Batman & Robin played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But heroes are represented as well in the form of the green underwear-clad Robin as portrayed by Burt Ward in the classic series. So no worries there. There were also a few Amazons from Wonder Woman included, so keep those eyes peeled as the movie gets closer.
The Mask
Is The Mask the most powerful person in the audience of the Tune Squad’s face-off with the Goon Squad? Depends on what canon you like to believe and if you saw the sequel featuring Jamie Kennedy.
Either way, the version made famous by Jim Carrey is present in Space Jam 2. It could be very fun to see how a character inspired by Looney Tunes interacts with them.
Lord of The Rings
Gandalf is one of the top players LeBron James lists on his animated white board after landing in Looney Tune land. He doesn’t specify if it is Gandalf the Grey or Gandalf the White, but we can be sure that his defense is flawless. He also knows how to bring on the fireworks when needed.
Judging with how the final audience is being presented, we might see more evil characters pop up from J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic epic.
Pennywise
Look, say what you will about Pennywise the Clown being at the game. He’s got the reach, he’s got the height and he’s got the confidence. Put him on a squad in the real NBA and you have a MVP candidate that can float em with ease from the foul line. Just keep him away from the kids!
A Clockword Orange, The Matrix
As a few people have pointed out, including characters from A Clockwork Orange in this film for children while removing Pepe Le Pew is a little confusing. Is the skunk problematic and a sign of its times? Sure thing, without a doubt.
A Clockwork Orange on the other hand still carries an X-rating and features a lot of forced sex, ultraviolence and unrestricted milk consumption. Toss in the agents from The Matrix, the war boys from Mad Max: Fury Road and a few others, you start raising some eyebrows.
