Magic Johnson, #32, Los Angeles Lakers, (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Last Dance brought Michael Jordan back to the center of the basketball world. Now Magic Johnson is getting his own documentary.
The popularity of ESPN’s The Last Dance was certainly buoyed by the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders across the country. But the 10-part docuseries on Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls was still a monumental success, capturing a huge audience share and bringing new and old Jordan fans together, even if it didn’t offer a ton of new insight into his character.
What do we know about the Magic Johnson documentary?
Now, it has been announced that the Los Angeles Lakers‘ Magic Johnson will be getting a documentary of his own, set to be released in 2021. According to a report in Variety:
The filmmakers say they have been granted “unprecedented access” to the Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, whose dominance on the court helped drive the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships. The film will also rely on archival footage of Johnson, as well as interviews with the superstar, his family, fellow NBA players and business leaders. Directors for the project are currently under consideration.
There still seems to be a lot to work out here — a director isn’t attached and it isn’t clear if this is something that will be headed to theaters or to a streaming distribution service. It will differ heavily from The Last Dance in that this project is being approached as a feature-length film, as opposed to a multi-part docuseries. That’s unfortunate because Johnson’s story has just as many twists and turns as Jordan’s and could certainly fill 10 hours. Can you imagine what would have been left out of The Last Dance if had been compressed down to two hours, instead of 10?
We’ll certainly be hearing a lot more about this project as production rolls along but let’s hope room is given to really tell Johnson’s story in the way it deserves to be told.