The 10 Best Easter Eggs in ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ | Launderer report

After years of rumors and months of accumulation, Space Jam: a new legacy is finally here. And it’s as wild as you might expect. There’s LeBron James as Michael Jordan from the original. There are other stars in the NBA. There are Looney Tunes characters. There are Warner Bros.-galaxy characters that you will surely recognize.

And there are a lot of hidden references to things longtime fans of the NBA and James’ career will understand. Here are some of the best hidden references from the movie.

NBA Jam

The central plot of the film is the conflict between LeBron’s desire for his son, Dominic (not one of his actual sons, Bronny and Bryce, obviously), to follow in his footsteps as a basketball star and the Dom’s passion for programming video games. In a clumsy first attempt at father-son reconciliation, Dom shows LeBron the basketball game he created (which is then stolen and used as the basis for the game LeBron and the Looney Tunes must play to save the world. ).

And “Dom Ball” is essentially NBA Jam. There are simulations of actual NBA stars like Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, and Klay Thompson, but their games are played to cartoonish degrees and have all kinds of other visual effects. Anyone who’s spent time in an arcade will think this sounds familiar.

Bugs Bunny joins “The Shop”

As LeBron gets used to his cartoon form, one of the first things Bugs Bunny does to make him comfortable is give him a new haircut. Don’t miss the latest episode of The shop: without interruption, streaming on HBO Max.

LeBron Returns as Robin

A few times in the film, LeBron pokes fun at some of the tired critics he has faced in his career. When he and Bugs travel to the DC Comics universe, they end up in the Batmobile, with Bugs as Batman and LeBron as Robin. How many hours have the one-on-one shows spent debating whether LeBron was “Batman or Robin” earlier in his career? He hasn’t forgotten.

Later, during the decisive showdown between Tune Squad and Goon Squad, LeBron’s cartoon teammates encourage him to think outside the box. He doesn’t have it: “There’s only one basketball.” Anyone who watched any of the talk shows around the time of decision This line will be remembered from any discussion of how he and Dwyane Wade might play together.

Foreshadowing the future of LeBron?

When antagonist Al-G Rhythm kidnaps Dom, he tries to put himself in his good graces by pointing out that his father doesn’t appreciate his talent for coding.

“He’s gone,” he said. “It’s kind of his MO. He left Cleveland, Miami, Cleveland again. Watch out for the Lakers, am I right?”

In real life, James is under contract for the next two seasons. Presumably, he will not retire then. Will he end his career with a team other than the Lakers? Probably not. But if he does, you heard him here first.

A hit on Shaq?

As LeBron and Bugs begin to think about their roster of characters from the Warner Bros. universe, James’ first choice is Superman. “I could have used it on the Cavs,” he says.

But LeBron did having Superman with him in Cleveland for a year, although it was a late-career version of Shaquille O’Neal that wasn’t pretty much what they hoped it would be when they traded him to be James’ co-star. James left for Miami that summer.

Chronos says goodbye

Most Goon Squad members only get a row or two, but the most fleshed out is Damian Lillard’s “Chronos”, who can stop time with his watch. (Do you understand? Like “Dame Time”?) It’s supposed to be a Back to the future tribute, but it’s mostly reminiscent of the 2002 movie Nickelodeon Clock blockers.

Either way, during the game Chronos “waves” goodbye to the Tune Squad after scoring. Paul George can understand.

The Flying Death Machine

The most iconic image of James’ four years in Miami is Dwyane Wade, arms outstretched after lobbing James for a dunk. Do LeBron and Lola Bunny recreate this shot during the game? You better believe they do.

There are also some references to James’ block chase on Andre Iguodala in the 2016 finale, but that’s not actually shown.

Bobby Knight trains the Goon Squad

As Tune Squad begins to reduce their 1,000-point halftime deficit, Goon Squad coach Al-G Rhythm begins to lose his temper. At one point, he throws a chair at the referee. James has never played college basketball, but that doesn’t stop him from paying homage to Bobby Knight.

“That’s it, guys”

There are several pointed references throughout the film to Porky Pig’s slogan, “That’s it, folks.” It’s been a staple of Looney Tunes canon for decades, but it crossed LeBron’s world when Anthony Davis, who is in the movie, wore it over a shirt during his last game as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans.

By this point, it was well known that James, Davis, and their mutual agent Rich Paul had been trying to craft a Davis trade with the Lakers, which they ultimately managed to do this offseason. Davis insisted the jersey choice wasn’t a big blow to New Orleans fans.

Maybe he was telling the truth and just doing viral marketing in the early years for this movie, creating a callback in the minds of savvy fans.

Taco Tuesday with insects

If James had been successful in his 2019 attempt to tag the phrase “Taco Tuesday,” you can bet it would have been a lot more prevalent in the movie. They might even have built an entire plot around it. They always throw one in for good measure at the very end, when Bugs comes over to the James family for dinner.