Michael Jordan Will Appear In 'Space Jam: A New Legacy' But In An Unexpected Way

Space Jam: A New Legacy is passing the torch of hybrid animated basketball games with the Looney Tunes to NBA pro LeBron James. However, according to the sequel's villain, Don Cheadle, the original Space Jam superstar Michael Jordan will be making an appearance in some capacity. But apparently the Chicago Bulls champion will be appearing in an unexpected way.

Don Cheadle recently appeared on Access Hollywood to talk about the Showtime series Black Monday, and during the interview he was asked if we'll see Michael Jordan in Space Jam 2.

Don Cheadle confirmed, "Michael Jordan is in the movie." But after a pause for the Access Hollywood interviewer's excitement, he added, "But not in the way you'd expect it." So now we're left wondering exactly what that means.

See what he had to say in the video below.

To me, that says that Michael Jordan is in the movie, but I don't think it's an appearance that the NBA star actually made himself. Considering all of the digital characters who are appearing in this movie thanks to the Warner Bros. Server-verse, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a digital version of Michael Jordan that we'll see as some kind of quick cameo, maybe even used as some kind of gag.

Another possibility is that Michael Jordan could appear in animated form, in the style of the Looney Tunes. As a change of pace from the original Space Jam, the trailer revealed that LeBron James is turned into a cartoon version of himself for a short time. Perhaps James will encounter an animated Michael Jordan in the Looney Tunes world. Then again, there would have to be an explanation as to why he's not helping LeBron James and the Tune Squad in the big game.

Maybe Space Jam 2 is taking an even bigger swing and Michael Jordan will appear as a robot version of himself that The Goon Squad uses to try to defeat LeBron James and the Tune Squad. That would be a fun twist in the story, and it wouldn't require Michael Jordan to actually do anything for the movie. They could even use old audio from Jordan's many media appearances as the voice of the robot.

We'll just have to wait and see how Michael Jordan comes into play in Space Jam: A New Legacy when the movie arrives in theaters and on HBO Max (for 31 days) starting on July 16, 2021.