The new Space Jam is out, and we’re all asking ourselves a pretty shocking question, Did Bugs Bunny die in Space Jam 2?
After over two decades of waiting, the world was finally given a Space Jam sequel.
Let’s refrain from saying we were ‘gifted’ a sequel because most of the reviews would suggest that the viewer will need that device from A Clockwork Orange to get through the movie. That’s also a reminder that Stanley Kubrick and his iconic film are part of the Space Jam universe — or should I say, Server-Verse — thanks to Space Jam: A New Legacy.
But for as bad as the reviews are, it’s a perfectly decent film. Yeah, it’s fun to dunk on it on Twitter and LeBron James is an easy target, but once you accept the movie for what it is, it’s not nearly the fate worse than death the reviews make it out to be.
In fact, Space Jam 2 does something that Lucasfilm, Disney, and the forces behind the Star Wars franchise were all too cowardly to do in an intelligent way: Kill off one of its most iconic characters.
Spoiler alert: If you haven’t watched Space Jam 2 yet, go check it out either on HBO Max or in theaters and then come back to discuss.
Did Bugs Bunny die in Space Jam 2?
As Space Jam: A New Legacy forges ahead, it actually becomes a pretty tolerable movie. There are some heartfelt moments in the final act between LeBron and his son but one of the most gut-wrenching moments happens when it appears as though Bug Bunny is going to be killed off.
No, seriously. They come this close to offing Bugs Bunny in a heroic act of sacrifice.
With time running out and the Toon Squad down a point, LeBron draws up a play that mimics a move we saw earlier in Dom’s game. Using LeBron’s signature stepback glitches the game and causes the player who uses it to be deleted from the game.
While LeBron agrees to do the move, Bugs steals the ball and performs the move knowing he’ll be deleted. The move works and the Toon Squad is able to win, but the celebration is overshadowed by Bugs slowly being deleted while he explains that taking care of the people you care about is the most fun anyone can have.
It’s unexpectedly heavy.
The Server-Verse is reset to what it was before Al-G tinkered with it, the Loony Toons are sent back to their world, but Bugs still appears to be glitching towards deletion.
In the final scene, LeBron takes Dom to camp but it’s revealed to be computer camp and not basketball camp. With the story seemingly wrapped up, LeBron begins to walk away when Bugs appears and explains he can now port between worlds. The two walk together down the street, gabbing about how much fun Taco Tuesday is going to be.
That’s pretty much Space Jam 2 in a nutshell. It’s an aggressively and deeply flawed movie that a ton of people are going to check out of in the first 15 minutes. But once you give yourself to the algorithm and accept that it’s not a good movie, it actually becomes sneakily charming.
Case in point: The act of potentially killing off Bugs Bunny works, as does the payoff of why he’s doing it and his cheesy return.