'Space Jam 2' Set For Summer 2021, 'Godzilla Vs Kong' Moves Up To Avoid 'Fast And Furious 9'

After years of fans demanding that a sequel to Space Jam be made with LeBron James (in a continued effort to compare him to Michael Jordan, the true greatest NBA player of all-time), Warner Bros. Pictures has finally set a summer 2021 release date for the live-action and animation hybrid.

But at the same time, the studio isn't too confident that two of cinema's most revered movie monsters going head-to-head in will be enough to contend with Vin Diesel and the crew of Fast and Furious 9. Godzilla vs Kong has been bumped up a couple months to avoid clashing with Universal's hit international blockbuster franchise.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed Space Jam 2 has been slated for release on July 16, 2021. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is producing this one with Terence Nance (Random Acts of Flyness) directing.

LeBron James will be taking the place of Michael Jordan as the basketball player who gets entangled with the Looney Tunes. The first Space Jam involved the Looney Tunes needing Michael Jordan to take on a team of aliens who super-sized themselves with the stolen talent of real professional NBA players to become the Monstars. We're not sure what the plot of Space Jam 2 is, but we wouldn't be surprised if it's along the same lines, maybe even involving a rematch of some kind.

Back when Space Jam 2 was officially announced, LeBron James had this to say:

"The Space Jam collaboration is so much more than just me and the Looney Tunes getting together and doing this movie It's so much bigger. I'd just love for kids to understand how empowered they can feel and how empowered they can be if they don't just give up on their dreams."

That's probably why Black Panther director Ryan Coogler was brought in to produce. Actually, it would be amazing if Coogler was able to bring Michael B. Jordan into Space Jam 2 for some kind of cameo. Maybe the Looney Tunes try to get Michael Jordan to help them out again, but they end up kidnapping Michael B. Jordan instead. Make it happen!

Meanwhile, the summer just got a little less epic thanks to the departure of Godzilla vs Kong (image via Reddit). Following last week's shift of Fast and Furious 9 to the exact same release date in May 2020, Warner Bros. is blinking and letting Universal have that weekend. Instead, the studio will try to dominate spring a couple months earlier with a new release date of March 13, 2020.

Honestly, this is probably a smart move by WB. March doesn't have nearly as much competition, and the Fast and Furious movies are such box office juggernauts that you don't want to take a chance on Godzilla vs Kong having some of its box office swiped away by the best heist crew on the planet.

Godzilla vs Kong will be directed by Adam Wingard (Blair Witch, Death Note). Even though Godzilla: King of the Monsters hasn't even been released yet, the cast already has the sequel's stars Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler returning for the monster mash-up. They'll be joined by Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Demian Bichir (The Nun), Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood), Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver), Rebecca Hall (Iron Man 3), Brian Tyree Henry (If Beale Street Could Talk), and more.