'Space Jam: A New Legacy' director suggests Dwayne Johnson as hypothetical lead for next installment

LeBron James finally revived Space Jam, and though Space Jam: A New Legacy is less than a week old, director Malcolm D. Lee is already being asked about a potential third installment in the franchise.

"I never say never," Lee, also known for directing Girls Trip, told Entertainment Weekly. "It's all going to be about whether the fans respond to this positively. But I think the bar has been set so high in terms of the first one with this global iconic superstar in Michael Jordan, and now the same global iconic superstar in LeBron James, who transcends sports. Who is that next person to put into that universe? And then you've got to find a script and story that's good enough to not repeat what's been done but will capture the spirit of it and keep it going."

The 51-year-old then answered his own question: "Dwayne Johnson would be an interesting choice. It would be different. I'm not exactly sure what his skillset would be, maybe he goes back to wrestling. That might be interesting."

In terms of how the fans have responded so far to A New Legacy, which hit theaters and HBO Max last Friday (July 16), it notched an 81 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes—vastly contrasting its 32 percent Tomatometer mark—and broke a pandemic box office record.