The star of “Juwanna Mann,” Miguel A. Núñez Jr., is saying that a sequel to the 2002 hit basketball movie is in the works.
via: MovieWeb
After more than two decades, it would appear that Juwanna Mann is getting a sequel. The news comes from actor Miguel A. Núñez Jr., the star of the original film that was released in 2002. In that movie, Núñez plays Jamal Jefferies, a professional basketball player whose controversial antics get him dropped by his team. Eager to get back onto the court, Jamal dresses up as a woman using the alias Juwanna Mann, proceeding to join a professional women’s basketball league while keeping up the charade. All in all, the experience ends up helping him to become a better person.
While recently speaking with TMZ, Núñez divulged that Juwanna Mann 2 is now in development. When asked if Juwanna Mann was the kind of movie that could be made today, Núñez said that a sequel is already in the works. Núñez admits that it was “complicated” to get the ball rolling on the project, as the movie’s plot could be seen as more problematic today. Additionally, it’s taken some creativity to figure out how to advance the story, given how the character was “exposed” in the original film. As the actor explains:
“Yes, they are gonna do it. We are doing Juwanna Mann 2. Yeah, I can’t give you the details of it, but you’re right, it was complicated, because of issues now, and because of the fact that he was exposed. But, I can’t give away the story, we’re working on that right now.”
Núñez also feels confident that the sequel won’t be offensive, believing that the WNBA and the LGBTQ+ community won’t have any major issues with what they’re planning to do with Juwanna Mann 2.
“Absolutely [they will embrace the film]. 100%. They did first one, they will definitely do it with this one.”
While Juwanna Mann didn’t feature the NBA, instead calling the movie’s pro basketball leagues the UBA and WUBA with fictional teams, there were several pro basketball stars from the NBA and WNBA who had roles in the film. Núñez teases that there will again be real-life basketball stars brought in for the film, going so far as to name the NBA’s Draymond Green as someone who’s already lobbying to get a spot in the sequel. As Núñez teases:
“In the first one, we had the winning championship team girls, so I don’t know how we’re going to do this one, but I’m sure we’re going to have some of them. And they all want to be involved. Draymond Green, he wants to be in it as well!”
Juwanna Mann was directed by Jesse Vaughan and written by Bradley Allenstein. Along with Miguel A. Núñez Jr. in the lead role, the film stars Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Pollak, Tommy Davidson, Kim Wayans, Ginuwine, and Kimberly “Lil’ Kim” Jones.
There’s no word yet on when Juwanna Mann 2 may start filming or when it will be released.
