These past few years have been the golden age of resurgence in classic movies. From live action Disney movies to the sequel trilogy of Star Wars, Hollywood has thrown itself into recreating nostalgia for older generations. 

“What does this have to do with sports?” You may wonder. Well, hold onto your Air Jordans, because I have some news for you.

“Space Jam 2” is set to be released on July 16, 2021, starring none other than Lebron James. My issue with Hollywood making unnecessary sequels to movies that came out in the 90s is another ordeal, but this is even worse. 

The original “Space Jam,” starring Michael Jordan, was released in 1996. This was at the beginning of the Chicago Bulls’ second three-peat NBA championship- winning run. At this point, Jordan was very popular, but wasn’t at his peak basketball stardom yet. 

For those who have never seen “Space Jam,” I will sum it up for you. 

Michael Jordan teams up with Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters to defeat aliens that run a theme park, in a basketball game. If the aliens win, the Looney Tunes become attractions in the theme park. If the aliens lose, they have to give the basketball talent they stole from the other NBA stars back. 

The story line was a little all over the place, but that gave it some charm. 

The movie didn’t go over too well with the critics, scoring a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it opened at number one in the North American box office and grossed over $230 million worldwide. It was a movie for kids and families as well as die hard Jordan fans. Jordan didn’t prove to be much of an actor, but it did increase his status as an NBA legend and icon. 

Jordan retired from the NBA for a second time in 1999, four years before James was drafted and chose the number 23 for the back of his jersey.

 Lebron made an impressive impact in the NBA. He began to break records and be a very valuable player for whatever team he was on.

Being the Chicago Bulls fan that I am, I didn’t like the thought of people saying James was better than Jordan. James nicknamed himself the king as well as refering to himself as the greatest of all time. You know who never did that? Michael Jordan.

Jordan may have not been the most humble player in the NBA, but he never called himself the greatest of all time out of respect for those who played before him. 

No matter however many of Jordan’s records James broke, there was one thing that solidified Jordan’s top NBA spot: the fact that Jordan saved the Looney Tunes characters from aliens in the “Space Jam” movie. 

Other NBA stars have opened up about their opinions on “Space Jam 2.” Charles Barkley, in an interview with ET, said, “‘Space Jam 1’ was amazing,” we don’t need 2. ‘Space Jam 1’ was a classic. I don’t like it when people try to imitate something that was already good.”

I expect this movie to do well at the box office. 

I think the new NBA players who will make cameos in the movie and James’ popularity is sure to bring people out to see the movie. 

No matter how this movie does or what the critics say, this movie will not make James more of an NBA legend than Jordan for one reason. 

Jordan did it first.