“Space Jam: A New Legacy” is slated to release in July on HBO Max, which means we will likely be getting a full trailer for the pseudo-sequel to the 90’s classic soon. But while we’ve already seen what Lakers and soon-to-be movie star LeBron James looks like in the new Tune Squad jersey, on Saturday, a preview for the upcoming Warner Bros. slate gave us our first (albeit brief) look at James in live action alongside Bugs Bunny.
James shared just the clip of himself on his Instagram account, and it seems like he might be excited about the film, but it’s hard to say, really:
And just like he and WB probably planned for, the quick glimpse was just enough for NBA Twitter (especially the Lakers’ segment) to turn into its latest, best meme:
When the Monstar that stole James Harden's talent immediately demands a trade and starts eating out of a takeout container mid-game pic.twitter.com/T8CcTTF0q1
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) January 16, 2021
The side of the backboard when Paul George throw a corner 3 pic.twitter.com/6Sqo1RrQRk
— Killinio (@Killinio) January 16, 2021
NBA watching the Lakers defense. pic.twitter.com/mZHWnsfygN
— Fernando Elizarrarás (11-3) (@ferchelo94) January 16, 2021
When the Monstar that stole MPJ's talent starts telling you their thoughts on the election and vaccines pic.twitter.com/3c1rGimX9m
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) January 16, 2021
Between the look of visible confusion on James’ face — can you say early Oscars buzz, anyone?? — and the abject horror on Bugs Bunny’s, this is an incredibly versatile reaction meme that can be used for tons more situations than the ones above, and I expect we’ll start seeing it in people’s rotations fairly frequently moving forward.
And who knows how good the movie will actually be, but the visual style looks really cool, and if it gives us more memes like this, no one is going to complain (okay, fine, it’s LeBron, so some people will complain regardless, but you know what I mean).
With just six months until the movie is set to drop, it would be a surprise if we don’t get a trailer during some big, nationally televised Lakers game soon, or maybe even during the Super Bowl. After all, it would be very LeBron to steal the thunder from football on his day off, and hey, he’s done it before.
But regardless of when we get our next look, this was a fun first one. Or, to use meme parlance, “Us when we got our first look at ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy.’”
See? I told you it’s versatile.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.