Yesterday, Warner Bros.' live-action/animation hybridSpace Jamcelebrated its 20th Anniversary, which comes on the heels of the long-awaited sequelSpace Jam 2. Current NBA superstarLeBron Jamesis attached to star in that sequel. Over the past few days, originalSpace JamdirectorJoe Pytkawas doing press for the 20th Anniversary, and he revealed that there was almost an early version of the sequel that starred golfing legendTiger Woods, which never came to pass. The filmmaker also made the surprising revelation that indie filmmakerSpike Leealmost worked on the script for the originalSpace Jam.
Back in August, video surfaced from a basketball camp whereoriginal Space Jamstar and NBA legendMichael Jordanwas asked who he thinks should take over forSpace Jam 2. The basketball star replied that he’d choose Los Angeles Clippers starBlake Griffinas the lead, insetad ofLeBron James.Joe Pytkaspoke withComplex, revealing that he was involved in making a sequel at one point, which hadTiger Woodswritten into the story.
“When they talk about making the new movie, god bless them, because they don’t have Michael anymore. Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes, they got rejuvenated because of Michael. There will never be another Michael Jordan. There’s only been two athletes with that kind of charisma:Michael JordanandMuhammad Ali. At one point a long time back, I was called in to look at a script forSpace Jam 2andTiger Woodswas written into that. It never came to be. It was a strange script. But Tiger was part of it.”
He wouldn’t elaborate about howTiger Woodsfit into the story, but you may recall that the director also said in an interview earlier this year that theSpace Jam sequelwas “doomed.” The filmmaker said that none of the NBA players today have a persona that would compliment the film, likeMichael Jordan,Larry Bird,Charles BarkleyandPatrick Ewing. In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly,Joe Pytkaalso teased that indie filmmakerSpike Leealmost came aboard to write the script, but it never happened because the studio still wasn’t pleased with the director for how he finishedMalcolm X.
“Spike Leeis a friend of mine and he approached me to do a polish on the script. I thought thatSpikewould have added some stuff that would have been cooler, but Warner Bros. didn’t want to deal with him because of their issues with him when they didMalcolm Xtogether. Remember,Spikegot his friends to put money into finishing Malcolm X and the corporation hated the fact that he did that.”
WhileSpace Jam 2may not have a green light yet, filmmakerJustin Linentered talks to direct back in May, withAndrew Dodge(Bad Words) andAlfredo Botello(Hollywood Adventures) coming aboard to write the script. In yet another interview with YouTube channel Mr. Wavvy,Joe Pytkasaid that, despite how great of a player that current stars such asLeBron JamesandSteph Curryare, they just simply aren’tMichael Jordan. Here’s what he had to say, while stating that he would never come back to direct aSpace Jamsequel.
“LeBronis a terrific athlete, but wouldMichaelever play a small part in another movie? I don’t think so. He’s a star.LeBronplayed a supporting role in another movie, and sort of forgettable, right? I worked withSteph Currylast year when he was on top of the world.Steph Curryis a terrific little guy, but he’s notMichael Jordan. And neither isLeBron. And I don’t see anyMichael Jordanon the horizon anytime soon. I would never touchSpace Jam 2as a director. Even with the differences in technology and what we’ve learned, I would never begin to do a movie like that again. Sequels are horrible.The Godfather 2is not as good asThe Godfather 1. The first film is always the best one. The first Pirates movie is better than the rest of them. It’s diminishing returns. There are so many reasons not to do it, I don’t know what they’re thinking. If they were going to do it, they should have done it soon after they didSpace Jam. But they did that other movie (Looney Tunes: Back in Action) which didn’t do well, did it?”
The originalSpace Jamcentered on NBA legendMichael Jordanas himself, teaming up with a slew of Looney Tunes characters to defeat a team of aliens in a game of basketball, with the future of the human race on the line. Other NBA stars who appeared in the movie includedLarry Bird,Charles Barkley,Patrick Ewing,Mugsy Bogues,Vlade Divac,Larry JohnsonandAlonzo Mourning, just to name a few. The supporting cast also includedWayne Knight,Theresa RandleandBill Murray, who played himself.Joe Pytkahasn’t directed a feature film sinceSpace Jam, but he still does plenty of work on television, documentaries and commercials. He was given the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Television 2016.
