In 1996’s Space Jam, the ensemble featured Michael Jordan playing himself, sharing top billing with classic cartoon Bugs Bunny and a slew of famous NBA stars. Bill Murray played Jordan’s good pal… Bill Murray, yet Jurassic Park’s Wayne Knight played a fictional character named Stan Podolak. So you can imagine our confusion about where Avengers: Endgame’s Don Cheadle would fit when he was cast alongside LeBron James in Space Jam 2.
Many fans originally thought the War Machine actor might take the place of Bill Murray’s role and just cameo as himself, but Don Cheadle shut down those rumors, yet said he could not disclose his specific role in Space Jam 2 just yet. Now it looks like one of his Black Monday costars might have just done it for him anyway.
Paul Scheer, who is best known for playing Andre in FX’s The League, has been working with Don Cheadle on Black Monday Season 2, and he just dropped the ball, revealing this:
Actually Don Cheadle, who I do Black Monday with, he’s the bad guy in Space Jam [2], and he said LeBron’s really great. He was great in Trainwreck too.
Oops! Looks like Don Cheadle is gearing up to take on a villain character in Space Jam 2 after years on team good-guy in the MCU. Now it makes sense why Don Cheadle was remaining tight-lipped about his upcoming role. Here’s hoping that’s not some kind of dramatic reveal we’ve just deprived ourselves of.
Don Cheadle’s Black Monday co-star talked about Space Jam 2 on a recent appearance of the “Clip City” podcast. In the 1996 original, the villain was an animated evil alien named Mr. Swackhammer, voiced by Danny DeVito. If the upcoming sequel’s villain is also animated, Don Cheadle knows what he’s doing – after all, the actor did voice Donald Duck in an episode of Disney’s rebooted DuckTales series.
It should be noted that it’s not confirmed that Don Cheadle will be the official bad guy of Space Jam 2, but Paul Scheer is certainly a close enough source to the actor. The basketball flick has, of course, enlisted the Looney Tunes, an impressive lineup of NBA and WNBA players, Star Trek: Discovery’s Sonequa Martin-Green, who is playing LeBron James’ wife, while Girls Trip director Malcolm D. Lee helming.
Amidst a dizzying week flooded with production delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, LeBron James has confirmed that Space Jam 2 is still on schedule for its summer 2021 release. The Los Angeles Laker wrapped shooting back in September and the movie is currently being animated. One of the film’s animators also offered an update that he’s now working on the project from home.
Space Jam 2 is coming to theaters on July 16, 2021.
