Original Space Jam star Michael Jordan will make an appearance in Space Jam: A New Legacy. Back in 1996, the Chicago Bulls legend teamed up with Bugs Bunny and the Tune Squad - with a little help from Bill Murray - to defeat the Monstars in the first Space Jam. In the sequel, LeBron James succeeds Jordan as the next NBA star to team up with the Looney Tunes cast for another high-stakes basketball game.

Playing the antagonist in Space Jam 2 is Don Cheadle, who will be voicing a rogue artificial intelligence named AI-G Rhythm. Because the trailer alone was filled with cameos, many fans have wondered if Jordan could make a special appearance as well. With this in mind, Cheadle was asked directly if Jordan was in A New Legacy, and he had a rather positive response.

"Michael Jordan is in the movie," Cheadle said matter-of-factly. Suggesting that it won't exactly be a traditional cameo, he added, "But not in the way you'd expect it!."

Now, leave it to the fans to start speculating over what this Jordan appearance will be. There's any number of ways a special cameo would be worked into the sequel, even if Jordan doesn't physically appear on set. Given that Cheadle's AI character creates a team of digitized champions to take on King James and the Tune Squad, could it be that a digital version of Jordan is created at some point in the movie?

What we do know is that James stars in the lead role, playing a fictionalized version of himself. Sonequa Martin-Green, Cedric Joe, Ceyair J. Wright, and Harper Leigh Alexander also star as James' family members. Also included along with Cheadle as the voice cast are Jeff Bergman (Bugs Bunny), Zendaya (Lola Bunny), Eric Bauza (Daffy Duck), Jim Cummings (Tasmanian Devil), Gabriel Iglesias (Speedy Gonzales), and Candi Milo (Granny).

We can also count out the seductive French skunk Pepe Le Pew from appearing in the movie. Originally, a scene had been filmed featuring Pepe flirting with a bartender played by Greice Santo. The scene was later scrapped when director Malcolm D. Lee boarded the project with no traces of the cartoon skunk left behind. This decision was met with backlash that only grew when the trailer later revealed cameos of the child-eating clown Pennywise and the gang of violent rapists from A Clockwork Orange.

Many fans would love to see Bill Murray get some kind of acknowledgement in Space Jam 2 as well. After the trailer revealed how LeBron James tried to recruit characters like Superman, King Kong, and Gandalf to join his team, some fans pointed out how an assist from Murray was all Jordan needed to defeat the Monstars. Others forget that it was Murray who helped Jordan secure the win at the end of the movie, making him the unsung hero of the franchise.

In any case, we'll all find out who's in Space Jam: A New Legacy when the movie is released in theaters and on HBO Max on July 16. This news comes to us from Access Hollywood.