We almost had a skating version of ‘Space Jam’ in 2003 starring Tony Hawk
The movie was in planning in 2003, according to Hawk.
On Saturday skateboarding legend Tony Hawk revealed something we only wish happened.
in 2003, I was requested to meet with Warner Brothers about doing a film tentatively titled “Skate Jam.” They were bringing back Looney Tunes with “Back In Action” & then wanted to start on my project immediately. A week later Back In Action bombed & Skate Jam was shelved forever pic.twitter.com/9giKzBnlWH
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) January 5, 2019
This would have been the spiritual successor to Space Jam we never knew we needed. Instead of waiting for the new version, which is shooting this Summer, we would have had a skateboard-themed movie.
It’s unclear whether tentatively removing “Space” from the title would have made this a more grounded film, or if the Monstars would return on Skateboards, but we sure hope it was the latter. Hawk’s account of the timing rings true. In the early 2000s Warner Bros were desperate to revitalize the Looney Tunes brand and had horrific success. Cartoons on TV were poorly received, and Looney Tunes: Back In Action was a box office flop, grossing $68.5M worldwide on a $80M budget.
It might seem like Hawk is an odd choice considering the mammoth worldwide appeal of Michael Jordan when Space Jam was released in 1996, but keep in mind that in 2003 Hawk was one of the biggest names in the sports world. Although he’d retired from competition in 2002, the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series were the biggest sports video games at the time, and the movie would have fallen between Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 and Tony Hawk’s Underground — both of which had critical and commercial success.
If the LeBron James Space Jam is a success maybe we’ll see more risks taken in expanding the sports-playing Looney Tunes universe. We’re here for it.