Warner Bros. has hired a writer for Space Jam 2, that could one day star LeBron James, but there has been no agreement yet for the Cavs star to appear in the sequel to the 1996 hit film. Watch video
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Warner Bros. hired a writer to work on a script for Space Jam 2, likely starring LeBron James, but the project is still early in development.
A source close to the mega Hollywood studio confirmed Monday that Warner hired Andrew Dodge, who wrote the script for the 2013 comedy Bad Words starring Jason Bateman, to build out a script for the highly anticipated sequel to the 1996 hit, Space Jam.
The sequel would presumably star James, the Cavaliers' superstar, who's been linked to Space Jam 2 since his own media company signed a content development agreement with Warner Bros. last summer.
A report Monday by The Hollywood Reporter said Fast & Furious 6 and Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin was co-writing Space Jam 2 with Dodge and Alfredo Botello, who wrote Hollywood Adventures.
The report said James would star in the movie and that Lin hoped to direct and produce the film as well, but multiple sources close to James and the studio said that neither the director nor James' participation in the film had been finalized.
Warner Bros. filed for new Space Jam trademarks, a potential signal for new merchandise for a follow-up to the original film about a basketball star - in that case, Michael Jordan - playing against a cast of intergalactic monsters and Looney Tunes cartoon stars that grossed more than $230 million worldwide.
In March, Jamal Henderson, president of James' Hollywood production company, SpringHill Entertainment, which is now located on Warner Bros.' lot, told cleveland.com that Space Jam 2 was on James' radar.
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"It'd be crazy not to say that it's something on the radar, it's super on the radar, but it's not something we have any news on," he said. "There's no sort of start on it."
It's not a project James could seriously even consider until after the Cavs' season is over, those close to him said, and it's unknown whether he would participate in the 2016 Olympics in August - which would further complicate any sort of production schedule.
As for the Dodge-Lin connection, the two are already working on multiple projects together, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Dodge is writing a TV drama for HBO that Lin is producing, and the two are working on an unnamed police comedy film, according the Hollywood news site.
So if Lin is not yet working on with Warner Bros. on Space Jam 2, his relationship with Dodge could be his way in.