'Black Panther' director Ryan Coogler joins 'Space Jam' sequel

Everybody get up, the Space Jamsequel is suddenly stacked.

With no casting beyond LeBron James and Bugs Bunny, the upcoming sports-comedy-cartoon followup will now be produced by Ryan Coogler. Terence Nance (Random Acts of Flyness) will direct.

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The addition of Coogler has fans buzzing, since as a director he is known for more serious fare – even Black Panther, a superhero blockbuster, was layered with sociopolitical nuance. Nance, whose main directing credit is the experimental film The Oversimplification of Her Beauty, is an interesting and intriguing choice to direct.

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“I loved his vision [for Black Panther],” James told The Hollywood Reporter. "So for Ryan to be able to bring that to kids, it’s amazing.”

That means we're looking at a Space Jamthat may depart significantly from its predecessor in tone (like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, but opposite). This is the first headlining role in a movie for James, who played himself as a confidant for Bill Hader's character in Trainwreck(2015).

The original 1996 Space Jamtold the story of a retired Michael Jordan (he tries baseball instead), who ends up in the world of the Looney Tunes, when they enlist his help for a life-or-death basketball tournament against a nefarious group of aliens who call themselves the Monstars. The Monstars, in turn, cheat by stealing talent from the NBA legends of the day. The movie is a g.d. masterpiece.

The Space Jamsequel does not yet have a release date.

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