Original Space Jam Director Slams New Legacy Sequel: ‘LeBron [James] Ain’t Michael [Jordan]’

The director of the original Space Jam isn’t happy with the hit sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy.

via: Daily News

“Space Jam: A New Legacy” premiered last week in theaters and on HBO Max and seems to be doing well, despite a negative reception from critics.

Joe Pytka, the director of the original 1996 “Space Jam,” is another of those critics, describing Warner Bros. latest attempt at nostalgia standing in for storytelling as an uninteresting mess, according to TMZ.

Pytka told the gossip blog that it took him five sittings to make it through “A New Legacy,” partially because the level of celebrity between original star Michael Jordan and LeBron James is still disparate.

“The truth is that LeBron ain’t Michael,” Pytka said.

Pytka added that the supporting cast of his movie, both then-current NBA players as well as actors like Bill Murray and Wayne Knight, was much more involved in the story.

Lastly, Pytka said “A New Legacy” didn’t do justice for it’s second-billed star: Bugs Bunny.

Pytka called the new movie’s characterization of Bugs as “heartbreaking” and compared his design to an overpriced-but-still-low-quality stuffed animal souvenir.

As a counterpoint: the original “Space Jam” doesn’t exactly deserve a spot in the Louvre.

Viewers interested in deciding for themselves can watch “Space Jam: A New Legacy” through several methods.

Despite Pytka’s criticism, the movie was a smash hit at the box office this past weekend. In its opening three days, Space Jam: A New Legacy earned an estimated $31.7 million, taking the No. 1 spot and surpassing industry expectations at the domestic box office following its July 16 premiere. And that’s not counting the streaming numbers from HBO Max.