words // Nick DePaula:
When the forever-anticipated Space Jam 2 sequel was officially confirmed last month, there was a collective sigh of relief that the movie would finally be on the way.
“That’s what I thought — finally!” laughs Jason Petrie, LeBron’s longtime Nike designer, during an in-depth conversation on the latest edition of the Nice Kicks Podcast.
While Petrie, like most of us, was a huge fan of the original Michael Jordan-led Space Jam film, the more pressing matter is that he and his fellow Nike designers and graphic designers will now be getting to work on mapping out a series of sneakers and gear to coincide with the upcoming movie.
“Now, we have a stake in the ground, where we can stop just talking about it,” he continues. “I know that’s been something that’s been in the works for awhile. We [told LeBron], ‘Just let us know when it’s time to start.’ We’re gonna go crazy with that for sure.”
While Mike’s “Space Jam” Jordan XIs were just a movie prop at the time of the 1996 film’s debut, and didn’t officially release until 2001, we could expect to see LeBron’s sneakers come to life in real time alongside the movie. Just don’t expect them to be black, royal and white.
“Discussions have already started about what that means for us — we don’t know yet,” Petrie jokes. “But it’s going to be important. They’re just announcing the movie, so we don’t know if they know yet. I’m hoping to follow along that journey, and be able to provide whatever that story becomes. What it won’t be, is what’s already been told.”
For more on the new LeBron 16, the move to LA and the excitement around Space Jam 2, listen along as Jason Petrie discusses all things LeBron.
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Presented by: Art of Sport, a new performance driven body care brand for athletes. Available now at ArtOfSport.com.
