New ‘Space Jam’ Will Feature a ‘Reworked’ Lola Bunny

Internet Buggs and Lola | Evan Agostini/Getty Images

Entertainment Weekly has a big Space Jam feature this month with LeBron James and the Looney Tunes on the cover and some new still images from the upcoming movie. According to director Malcolm D. Lee, the new Space Jam will be quite a bit more respectful of the Lola Bunny character. Via EW:

Upon watching Space Jam for the first time in 2019, Lee was caught off guard by the original’s “very sexualized” depiction of Lola Bunny. “This is 2021. It’s important to reflect the authenticity of strong, capable female characters,” the Girls Trip filmmaker says of why they “reworked” Lola, a.k.a. the team’s best non-LeBron player.

It sounds funny to say, but it really is a weird thing to be in a children’s movie. Not that this type of thing was rare. Many a beloved children’s cartoon character has had their jaw drop to the floor and tongue unroll in front of them at the sight of a female of their species. Lee’s directorial choices will hopefully save Bugs Bunny from a cancellation.

You can see the new, more basketball-centric version of Lola below.

As long as we’re here, we might as well take a look what we have available from Getty that has to do with Space Jam. First some pictures from the grand reopening of a Warner Brothers store in New York City in October 1996.

Warner Bros. Store Reopens In New York City | Evan Agostini/Getty Images Warner Bros. Store Reopens In New York City | Evan Agostini/Getty Images Warner Bros. Store Reopens In New York City | Evan Agostini/Getty Images

It’s been a quarter of a century since that store opened. It closed in 2001. Maybe it will be open again by the time the third Space Jam comes out in the mid-2040’s.