LeBron James is hitting the ground running since making Hollywood his new home. The NBA player is teaming up with “Black Panther” helmer Ryan Coogler, tapping the director to produce the follow-up to Michael Jordan’s beloved “Space Jam.”
James’s production company, SpringHill Entertainment tweeted out a photo confirming the addition of Coogler to the “Space Jam 2” team.
TheWrap previously exclusively reported that Terence Nance, the filmmaker behind HBO’s “Random Acts of Flyness,” will direct.
Bringing Coogler, who’s been a hot commodity on the heels of “Black Panther,” on board is a big get for the project.
“Space Jam 2” has been rumored for a while, with a number of names attached to the project. “Fast and Furious” director Justin Lin was previously in talks to direct, but will now serve as the film’s executive producer. And Andrew Dodge (“Bad Words”) wrote the script. Charlie Ebersol developed a previous iteration of the project and is expected to be involved in some kind of producing capacity, should the sequel move forward.
James signed a production deal with Warner Bros. and “Space Jam 2” is being developed with the new Los Angeles Laker forward, though he’ll need to approve the script before officially signing on to star. Other basketball players are expected to cameo, though it’s currently unclear whether Bill Murray will return.
Michael Jordan starred with Murray in the original “Space Jam,” which grossed $230 million worldwide. The Chicago Bulls guard led a team of Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, against a squad of giant aliens.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news of Coogler’s involvement.
'Black Panther': All the Box Office Records It Has Broken So Far (Photos)
"Black Panther" has been breaking box office records left and right, and it still may not be done. But for now, here are some of the historical feats "Black Panther" has pulled off and the big-name films it has managed to top at the box office.
Marvel
Highest Domestic Grossing Superhero Movie: After six weekends in theaters, "Black Panther" has passed the domestic run of "The Avengers," which made $623 million in 2012. That puts it in the top five on the all-time domestic charts, and makes it the biggest superhero movie in U.S. box office history.
Biggest February opening weekend: Two years ago, "Deadpool" pushed the boundaries of what R-rated blockbuster can do at the box office with a $152 million four-day start on President's Day weekend. But "Black Panther" is blowing by that record with $192 million in three days.
Marvel
Biggest pre-summer opening weekend: Hollywood has recognized that a box office hit can be released at any time of the year, as seen when the live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast" made $174.7 million last year. "Black Panther" is expected to beat that record by an $18 million margin.
Walt Disney Pictures
Biggest opening for a non-team-up superhero movie: Superhero movies with more than one hero like "The Avengers" tend to make more money than their single-hero counterparts, but "Black Panther" has not only beaten a five-year record held by "Iron Man 3," but is also posting a higher opening than films like "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Captain America: Civil War," films that have showcased all of Marvel's biggest heroes and, in the case of "Civil War," featured Black Panther in his big screen debut.
Marvel
Top 5 highest openings of all-time: "Black Panther" won't stay in the top 5 for very long, as "Avengers: Infinity War" will bump it off the list when it hits theaters in May. But for now, "Black Panther" will sit alongside the likes of "Jurassic World," "The Avengers" and the two latest "Star Wars" films for the biggest openings of all-time. Along with the aforementioned films like "Civil War" and "Age of Ultron," "Black Panther" has topped titles like "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" films.
Marvel
Highest grossing film by a Black Director: It has been a watershed year for black filmmakers, with Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight" winning Best Picture, Jordan Peele getting a Best Director Oscar nomination for "Get Out" and F. Gary Gray directing a billion-dollar hit with "The Fate of the Furious." Now there are two black directors ranked in the top 15 highest grossing films of all-time, with Ryan Coogler and "BP" passing Gray's $1.23 billion worldwide cume for the eighth "Fast & Furious" film
Getty Images
Biggest Opening By A Film With A Black Lead Character: Among the top 25 openings of all-time, only two films have black lead characters: "Furious 7" with Dwayne Johnson and "Suicide Squad" with Will Smith. Now "Black Panther," with its ten black actors led by Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, joins them on that list.
Five straight weekends at No. 1: In the 80s and 90s, 19 films stayed atop the weekend box office charts for five weekends or more. But since the turn of the century, only "Avatar" was able to reach that mark in 2010 with seven weekends at No. 1. "Black Panther" now joins those ranks with five weekends atop the charts.
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Ryan Coogler and ”Black Panther“ are making box office history
"Black Panther" has been breaking box office records left and right, and it still may not be done. But for now, here are some of the historical feats "Black Panther" has pulled off and the big-name films it has managed to top at the box office.
Marvel
