Another ‘Space Jam’ sequel could be on the way, despite poor reviews

Despite dividing critics, the film performed strongly with audiences during its opening weekend

A further instalment of Space Jam could already be in the works, despite the sequel opening to poor reviews.

Space Jam: A New Legacy, the highly anticipated follow-up to the 1996 original Looney Tunes film, made its debut in cinemas last week (16 July 2021).

Despite being a commercial success, earning over $31.7m (£23m ) in the US on its opening weekend, it proved critically divisive with a score of just 32 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publishing.

In a two-star review for The Independent, Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “No one expected Space Jam: A New Legacy, considering its origins, to be anything other than cynical. But at its weakest, it can’t even function as effective marketing material.”

Speaking about a possible sequel to to Entertainment Weekly, director Malcolm D Lee said he would “never say never”, adding that he already has a star in mind for the next film.

“Dwayne Johnson would be an interesting choice,” Lee told the publication. “It would be different. I’m not sure what his skillset would be, maybe he goes back to wrestling. That might be interesting.”

On Monday (July 19), basketball icon LeBron James, who stars in Space Jam: A New Legacy, defended the film on Twitter.

“Hi haters,” he wrote, alongside an article from Deadline that showed how much the film had earned on its opening weekend.