'Space Jam: A New Legacy' Trailer Breakdown: A Closer Look At Those Countless Film & TV Easter Eggs
Warner Bros. released a second Space Jam: A New Legacy trailer earlier today, and you know what that means: it's time for us to comb through it for easter eggs, references, callbacks, and everything else you may have missed on first watch.
Space Jam: A New Legacy Easter Eggs
After LeBron James is sucked into the Warner 3000 Entertainment "Server-Verse," sent to "Tune World," and turned into a cartoon, he encounters Bugs Bunny and gives him a hug. But the initial joy on cartoon LeBron's face quickly gives way to what appears to be fear right before the trailer cuts to the next shot. Does LeBron spot something here – maybe Elmer Fudd with a rifle pointed straight at them, considering the sign proclaiming it's "Duck Season"?
As LeBron talks about assembling an "elite team" to face off against Don Cheadle's Al G. Rhythm, it appears that he's being piloted through space toward the other planets in the Server-Verse to pick up potential teammates. But despite the helmet, Marvin the Martian is not piloting this ship – it's actually Bugs. In the background of this shot, you can see them pass by planets devoted to The Matrix (top center), Game of Thrones (top right), what I'm guessing is The Wizard of Oz (top left), and a planet that appears to be dedicated entirely to the films of Humphrey Bogart (center left), which has floating signs that read Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon. And of course, there's a nod to Star Wars on the sign claiming Tune World is 432 parsecs away.
Here's where things really start to heat up in terms of easter eggs. The Iron Giant and King Kong are both here as they were in Ready Player One, but this time, they're serving as spectators along with what appear to be thousands of other characters. The Jetsons are in the top right, and the Animaniacs are sitting on the lid of the alien spaceship on the right of the screen.
Later, you can see Penelope Pitstop's yellow and pink "Compact Pussycat" vehicle from the old animated Wacky Races show situated in the middle of the crowd.
As the spazzy Tasmanian Devil goes up for a dunk, you can see Space Ghost floating in the distance, rocking his white suit and yellow cape.
As Wile E. Coyote prepares to enter the Acme Multiplier, you can see a couple of the war boys from Mad Max: Fury Road standing courtside on the left side of the screen, and above them and further to the left, Lion-O and Cheetara from ThunderCats are having a conversation. I'm still trying to figure out who that guy is in the bottom right holding a cooler – that feels like it has to be a reference to something, but I can't quite place it.
Dino from The Flintstones is easily identifiable thanks to his purple hue, and the same goes for The Mask standing courtside in his yellow suit. He's posted up between two versions of Batman villain The Penguin – Danny DeVito's rotund Oswald Cobblepot from Batman Returns, and the purple top hat-wearing Burgess Meredith version from the 1960s television show. Frankenstein Jr. from Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles is on the far left side of the screen, and on the opposite end, that's Magilla Gorilla riding a unicycle between telephone poles. (Look it up, kids.)
Let's wrap things up with a dense image that comes near the end of the trailer. In this one, Batman, Robin, and Catwoman are standing under the basket with Jack Nicholson's Joker not too far away. A Hogwarts student is looking on from the right, and Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons is above him. To Rosie's left, you'll see the cartoon shark Jabberjaw, near Gloop & Gleep (the two yellow protoplasmic blobs with eyes) and Igoo the rock ape, who were characters in a series called The Herculoids.
Here is the movie's official synopsis:
When LeBron and his young son Dom are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.'s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of professional basketball stars as you've never seen them before. It's Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron's bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even "King" James by playing the game their own way.
Space Jam: A New Legacy arrives in theaters and will be available to stream on HBO Max for 31 days beginning July 16, 2021.