LeBron James shares why he chose to make ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’

“I was excited from the very beginning,” James said in the teaser, as transcribed by BuzzFeed. “Me being able to reintroduce it to kids today and show them how unbelievable Looney Tunes are, and how great our sport of basketball is – I feel like it was a match made in heaven.”

James goes on to add how the entire process of filmmaking with green screens and the like proved to be a “challenging” experience.

“It’s so challenging when you’re doing a scene and you gotta visualize the tunes actually being there,” James said. “For me being able to produce a movie like this, but also be able to star in a movie like this, it’s very humbling.”

As James notes, he serves as one of the producers of the film, alongside longtime business partner Maverick Carter.

The hype surrounding the upcoming premiere of “Space Jam: A New Legacy” has been ramping up for months. In December, James teased some compelling plot details of the film, including how it centers around the relationship between the Los Angeles Lakers star and his son. Among the many noteworthy aspects of the film includes how James stressed at the time that “Space Jam: A New Legacy” is not a sequel to the Michael Jordan-starring original.

Then in March, James provided a sneak peek of the movie by sharing some stills from the film. More interestingly, however, James also opened up about his apprehension over going forward with a “Space Jam” reboot in the first place, which stands in some contrast to what he had to say in the above teaser.

The LeBron-led project was in the works for years before filming actually began in 2019, but it’s all come to a head, as “Space Jam: A New Legacy” will simultaneously premiere in theaters and be streamable on HBO Max on July 16, 2021.