New ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Teaser Mashes Up The Looney Tunes With ‘Mad Max,’ ‘The Matrix,’ And More
You can’t have aLooney Tunesmovie without a few winks and nudges at other beloved pieces of pop culture. Those mischievous cartoons have long made a habit of satirizing classic movies and TV shows (see:Carrotblanca), and their appearance inSpace Jam: A New Legacywill be no exception — though this time, the Tunes will be straight up crashing movies likeMad Max: Fury RoadandThe Matrix.
In the latestSpace Jam: A New Legacyteaser, the Looney Tunes crash several movies and TV series, and even bringLeBron Jamesalong for the ride. Here’s a guide to the movies and TV references in the latest teaser.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner both crash George Miller’s 2015 action masterpieceMad Max: Fury Road, though they maintain their 2D animated form while the movie around them remains live-action. Because of that, their cameo in the shiny and chrome world looks a little off, but they’re admittedly the characters that fitMad Maxbest. Wile E. even dressed for the occasion, with a few more leather belts and sharp accessories added to his outfit.
The Matrix
Meanwhile, Granny gets to pull off the famous bullet-time high kick performed by Trinity inThe Matrix, complete with leather catsuit and sunglasses. Everything around her is the same as in the 1999 film, including the poor cop that’s about to be knocked out by Granny’s foot.
Austin Powers
Meanwhile, Elmer Fudd dresses up as Dr. Evil inAustin Powers. There’s a nice touch where his shadow looms large before the elevator opens and reveals it’s a (much shorter) Elmer Fudd, sporting a scar and gold ring, and doing the character’s trademark pinky pose.
Lastly, we’ve got Bugs Bunny and LeBron James dropping into Adam West’sBatman(based on the design of the costumes and the bright retro Batmobile they’re driving, though it could just be a genericBatmananimated title). But this time, both of them get fully animated, which perplexes James — though not as much as he’s perplexed over the fact that he becomes Robin in this scenario.
Directed byMalcolm D. Leeand starring LeBron James,Don Cheadle,Khris Davis, andSonequa Martin-Greenin live-action roles, whileJeff Bergman,Eric Bauza, andZendayalead theLooney Tunesvoice cast,Space Jam: A New Legacypremieres in theaters and HBO Max onJuly 16, 2021.
Superstar LeBron James and his young son, Dom, get trapped in digital space by a rogue AI. To get home safely, LeBron teams up with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang for a high-stakes basketball game against the AI’s digitized champions of the court — a powered-up roster called the Goon Squad.
