You can’t have a Looney Tunes movie without a few winks and nudges at other beloved pieces of pop culture. Those mischievous cartoons have long made a habit of satirizing classic movies and TV shows (see: Carrotblanca), and their appearance in Space Jam: A New Legacy will be no exception — though this time, the Tunes will be straight up crashing movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Matrix.
In the latest Space Jam: A New Legacy teaser, the Looney Tunes crash several movies and TV series, and even bring LeBron James along for the ride. Here’s a guide to the movies and TV references in the latest teaser.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner both crash George Miller’s 2015 action masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road, though they maintain their 2D animated form while the movie around them remains live-action. Because of that, their cameo in the shiny and chrome world looks a little off, but they’re admittedly the characters that fit Mad Max best. Wile E. even dressed for the occasion, with a few more leather belts and sharp accessories added to his outfit.
The Matrix
Meanwhile, Granny gets to pull off the famous bullet-time high kick performed by Trinity in The Matrix, complete with leather catsuit and sunglasses. Everything around her is the same as in the 1999 film, including the poor cop that’s about to be knocked out by Granny’s foot.
Austin Powers
Meanwhile, Elmer Fudd dresses up as Dr. Evil in Austin Powers. There’s a nice touch where his shadow looms large before the elevator opens and reveals it’s a (much shorter) Elmer Fudd, sporting a scar and gold ring, and doing the character’s trademark pinky pose.
Batman
Lastly, we’ve got Bugs Bunny and LeBron James dropping into Adam West’s Batman (based on the design of the costumes and the bright retro Batmobile they’re driving, though it could just be a generic Batman animated title). But this time, both of them get fully animated, which perplexes James — though not as much as he’s perplexed over the fact that he becomes Robin in this scenario.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee and starring LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, and Sonequa Martin-Green in live-action roles, while Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, and Zendaya lead the Looney Tunes voice cast, Space Jam: A New Legacy premieres in theaters and HBO Max on July 16, 2021.
Superstar LeBron James and his young son, Dom, get trapped in digital space by a rogue AI. To get home safely, LeBron teams up with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang for a high-stakes basketball game against the AI’s digitized champions of the court — a powered-up roster called the Goon Squad.
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