Zendaya to voice Lola Bunny in ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’
Director Malcolm D. Lee said his team 'gave [Lola Bunny] a real voice'
Emmy-winning actress Zendaya is set to voice Lola Bunny in the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. film sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy starring NBA star LeBron James.
Zendaya, who is one of the leading young actresses in her generation, is an established star. She’s worked with HBO and Warner Bros. through her critically acclaimed drama Euphoria and upcoming film Dune.
The official twitter account for the new movie wrote, “Welcome to the Jam, Zendaya” and the former Disney star retweeted it.
Entertainment Weekly reported that director Malcolm D. Lee’s mission is to re-introduce a new “fully-realized” version of Lola compared to the 1996 film starring Michael Jordan, in which Lola Bunny was voiced by actress Kath Soucie. In an interview with the outlet, Lee said he watched the original and said that the portrayal of her character left him perplexed, saying, “Lola was not politically correct.”
“This is a kids’ movie, why is she in a crop top? It just felt unnecessary, but at the same time there’s a long history of that in cartoons,” Lee said of the overly sexualized nature of the character, who was called “the heartthrob of the hoops.”
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Lee, who directed 2017’s Girl’s Trip and 2013’s The Best Man Holiday, wants to “reflect the authenticity of strong, capable female characters,” including the reveal of Lola’s new look which sparked conversation on social media.
“We reworked a lot of things, not only her look, like making sure she had an appropriate length on her shorts and was feminine without being objectified, but gave her a real voice,” Lee explains. “For us, it was, let’s ground her athletic prowess, her leadership skills, and make her as full a character as the others.”
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“This is 2021. It’s important to reflect the authenticity of strong, capable female characters,” Lee said.
Lee continued, “She probably has the most human characteristics of the Tunes; she doesn’t have a thing like a carrot or a lisp or a stutter. So we reworked a lot of things, not only her look, like making sure she had an appropriate length on her shorts and was feminine without being objectified, but gave her a real voice.”
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