"They presented the idea to me, that it would be Skate Jam": Tony Hawk once almost starred in a skateboarding sequel to Space Jam

Tony Hawk and the Space Jam poster — (Image credit: Getty Images (Space Jam: Warner))

Pro skating legend Tony Hawk has revealed that he was once in talks to star in a somewhat unlikely sequel to one of the biggest films of the 90s. Speaking on chat show/hot sauce challenge Youtube sensation Hot Ones earlier this week, Hawk confirms a rumour put forward by host Sean Evans that in the early 2000s, he was contacted about filming a skateboard-themed sequel to Space Jam, the smash hit 1996 Warner Bros comedy in which basketball icon Michael Jordan goes to shoot hoops with the Looney Tunes.

"Yes," he replies. "That is true. I think that that's the one that got away."

When Evans asks exactly how close we came to seeing that film come to fruition, Hawk responds: "They presented the idea to me, that it would be 'Skate Jam', much along the lines of Space Jam, with all the Looney Tunes characters. And then I was going to be the main real person. I was leaving for Australia - coincidentally to work on a different, an independent film there, and they said 'We wanna meet you at LAX [airport], 'cause we wanna finalise all the details. So they met me at that restaurant in the middle of LAX and they said, 'This is happening', like, 'Here are the script ideas, here's the poster', and I remember thinking, 'When is this going to happen?'

According to Hawk, everything was in place for the film to begin moving forwards, until another Looney Tunes production bombed at the box office, seemingly causing those in charge to get cold feet on the whole idea.

"[They said], 'When you get back, we're going to finalise all the details,' like, that's set, it's happening," he continues. "Awesome! I get on the plane, go to Australia. In the meanwhile, they released Back In Action, which was a Looney Tunes film with Brendan Frasier, and apparently it didn't do the numbers they had hoped. That was supposed to be their way to reintroduce Looney Tunes characters. By the time I got back from Australia, they weren't even calling anymore. It was gone. It was just gone. It was more like, 'What happened?! Let's all meet up again! This is gonna be fun, right?!' Yeah. Bummer."

To be fair to Tony Hawk, it wasn't just his potential Space Jam sequel that got canned in the wake of Looney Tunes: Back In Action stiffing in cinemas upon release in 2003: Warner cancelled all planned Looney Tunes feature film projects soon after, and wouldn't put out another for almost twenty years. In 2021, they released Space Jam: A New Legacy, a sequel to the original starring LeBron James. It was absolutely terrible, so maybe, all things considered, Hawk dodged a bullet with this one.

Still, imagine just how good the soundtrack could have been. Watch the full Hot Ones interview with Tony Hawk below.

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Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.