Warning: This feature contains spoilers for Space Jam: A New Legacy, including its ending.
The classic Looney Tunes mischief that played out in Space Jam: A New Legacy turned out to be key to saving LeBron James’ son (and Bugs Bunny’s friends) in the movie. Similar to the formula used in the 1996 movie with Michael Jordan in the lead role, Space Jam 2 put NBA star LeBron James on the court with Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat, Elmer Fudd, and several other Looney Tunes icons.
One of the biggest elements that set James’ Looney Tunes team-up apart from Jordan’s was the concept of the Server-verse, a place run by the sentient computer program, Al-G-Rhythm (Don Cheadle). Rather than getting sucked into an underground world populated by Looney Tunes, Lebron James and his son, Dom (Cedric Joe), were yanked into this massive virtual reality comprised of countless worlds from Warner Bros’ library of movies and TV shows, including Casablanca, the DC Universe, Mad Max, Harry Potter, and more. Because of this aspect of the Server-verse, viewers were treated to a much different environment for the sequel’s basketball match. A diverse audience of characters that included the likes of King Kong, Batman, Iron Giant, and even Pennywise the Clown were given an opportunity to observe the Tunes action.
After traveling through the different worlds in Server-verse to reunite Bugs Bunny’s Looney Tunes family, James and his new team faced off against the super-powered Goon Squad, whose appearances and skills were based on real-life NBA players. Right off the bat, the movie’s villains gained the upper hand by scoring so many points that a comeback for the Tune Squad looked impossible. However, LeBron James and the Tune Squad – in ways that mirrored Michael Jordan’s original cartoon team – proved to be surprisingly resourceful. Here’s what went down at the end of Space Jam: A New Legacy, and how it makes a third basketball-themed Looney Tunes movie possible.
Lola Bunny was the breakout star of Space Jam, with Michael Jordan being the driving force that propelled (and inspired) them to victory. But Space Jam: A New Legacy had a different and entirely unexpected hero in Wile E. Coyote. Despite decades of botched attempts to catch Road Runner and Bugs Bunny, Wile E. Coyote finally lived up to his self-given title of “genius extraordinaire.” After halftime, the Tunes started to turn things around, but it felt too little, too late, considering that they had to overcome a deficit of almost a thousand points. The teamwork and insane plays made by the Tunes helped to put some points on the board, but they didn’t actually get back into the game until Road Runner’s classic nemesis stepped up. In true Wile E. Coyote fashion, the character used a new ACME cloning contraption to launch hundreds of balls (and by accident, several clones of himself) into the basket. All by himself and in one single play, the Looney Tunes villain scored more than 500 points and nearly brought them to a tie.
While Wile E. Coyote was arguably the Space Jam 2 team’s MVP, he didn’t beat the Goon Squad alone. Ultimately, what set their win in motion was LeBron James learning the movie’s most important lesson. At the beginning of the film, James had problems with Dom over his dedication to making his son a basketball star in the same vein as him, instead of encouraging him to follow his dreams of making video games. During the basketball match with the Goon Squad, James realized that this same issue is what was holding the Tunes back. After understanding his mistake, James told the Tunes to be themselves. By embracing their “looney” nature, the Tunes changed course and began scoring points through their traditional methods, many of which not being based in reality. This defining characteristic helped the Tunes win, not unlike how it saved the day in Space Jam. In the original movie, it was when the Tunes moved away from trying to play basketball fairly and started relying on their old tricks that the odds finally shifted in their favor. Also, Michael Jordan himself realized in the final seconds of his game with the Monstars that the rules of reality don’t apply in Looney Tune land and used this fact to stretch his arm out and score the winning goal.
LeBron James didn’t necessarily repeat Michael Jordan’s big Space Jam moment, but he did get his own version of the winning play. He received his own chance to score the last basket before the seconds ticked off, but he wasn’t close enough to make it. Dom using his knowledge of the video game to activate a boost for James granted them a victory right at the end.
James scoring that last point couldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for another character’s ultimate sacrifice. Prior to the last play, Dom speculated on using James’ “in-and-out-cross-over-step-back” move as the game-winning play, but then said he knew from experience that it would cause a glitch. According to Dom, the glitch would delete any Looney Tunes character who tried it. As a result, James announced that he’d use the move, thinking that it might not kill him since he’s a person and not a character. To everyone’s shock, Bugs Bunny went against James’ plan and performed it himself. The glitch seemingly left him on death’s door. Once the game was over and Looney Tune land was restored, Bugs appeared to die, but returned alive in the final scene. When asked about this, he simply explained that as a Tune, he can come back from anything. Looking at all the times Looney Tunes characters have “died” and come back in past cartoons, this explanation works. As noted above, they don’t bend to the rules of the real world.
Bugs Bunny visiting James at the end of Space Jam: A New Legacy’s final scene shows that not only did the Tunes get to go back to their home, but they can also travel to the real world as they please. How this works wasn’t explained, but the same idea existed in Space Jam, as indicated by Daffy Duck and Bugs going to Jordan’s house to retrieve his basketball gear. The Looney Tunes having a way of keeping in contact with LeBron James that doesn’t involve him being transported to the Server-verse sets up a direct sequel. If the situation ever called for it, Bugs Bunny can easily call on LeBron James to reunite the Toon Squad for one more game in Space Jam 3.
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