Everybody get up, it’s time to buy stuff.
“Space Jam 2,” the long-awaited sequel to one of the biggest nostalgia vehicles of the modern era, is right around the corner. And, thanks to Nike, both the Tune Squad (which we could’ve sworn was “Toon Squad,” thanks false memory) and the MonStars are getting some serious uniform upgrades.
The Tune Squad jerseys are basically the same ones Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny wore back in 1996, but the MonStars got a serious rework. In the original flick, all of the players/monsters/talent thieves just wore plain blue and yellow jerseys with the number 0 on them.
This time around, they have a nice blue jersey with yellow trim and the team name across the front. The numbers have what looks like a cool galactic print, too. And, it looks like Danny DeVito’s money-hungry character from the original worked his financial magic and got the team a Nike deal.
am I to understand that the Monstars—a group of alien employees of an amusement park in a faraway galaxy—have an equipment deal with Nike, whose most valuable endorser they are trying to kidnap https://t.co/5BmHQBH7ag
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) January 22, 2020
What’s even more surprising is that the Tune Squad even went the way of the NBA and got a jersey sponsor. Maybe Adam Silver has a hand in intergalactic basketball grudge matches? Or maybe it’s just that anything LeBron-related is subject to the same corporate hegemony of modern professional basketball.
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Whatever the case, we’re going to have to wait until the movie comes out in 2021 to see exactly how the Tune Squad got hooked up with an apparel sponsor.
James, who is taking Jordan’s place as the star of the movie, is even going to rock some “Space Jam”-themed Nikes during the NBA All Star weekend.
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Nike really has its hands all over this movie, so we would not even blink if we heard something like Porky Pig stuttering his way through “Just do it” or one of the other NBA co-stars like Klay Thomson or Damian Lillard cracking that they have an Adidas contract.
This movie was always destined for corporate tie-ins from the jump. It’s basically an advertisement for the NBA anyway. It’s not like the world would be screaming for another “Loony Tunes” vehicle in a vacuum if the first one wasn’t such a hit, and now the kids who loved that movie are adults.
So, with the way nostalgia works itself into hit merchandising campaigns, you can bet your bottom dollar that “Space Jam” gear is going to make a huge merchandise play within the next year. This is only the beginning.
