Bringing the legacy to life! Zendaya and Cedric Joe star in the new movie Space Jam: A New Legacy, and are getting real about bringing the world of the Looney Tunes to life. The sports film also stars basketball legend LeBron James and is a follow-up to the movie Space Jam, which starred Michael Jordan, and was released in 1996.

“I have, you know, a basketball family. I was supposed to be a basketball player,” Zendaya told J-14 exclusively. “So, with that being said, Space Jam has, kind of, always been a part of my life or a part of the iconography that I grew up with at least. I feel very excited and lucky that I get to be a part of something that does feel like a legacy.”

The former Disney Channel star voiced a reimagined version of the animated Lola Bunny in the movie — which premieres on Friday, July 16 — and said she really related to the character.

“I like to think we have a lot of things in common,” Zendaya shared. “I think she’s fierce and she’s smart and she’s witty, and she’s a far better basketball player than I will ever be. She’s always been an iconic character and it’s really exciting to, kind of, be chosen or [be] asked to be a part of this new reimagining of who she is and what she represents.”

Space Jam interview
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock(2)

Cedric, for his part, plays LeBron’s son in Space Jam: A New Legacy and spoke with J-14 exclusively about playing basketball for the film. “There were definitely a lot of missed shots,” he joked. “You built all this confidence and talk so much, then you really get out there on the court and then, you know, it doesn’t go as it went in your head.”

The actor, 15, also explained that when doing scene with the Looney Tunes, he was actually talking to “pictures, stakes and tennis balls.”

“It looked really cool on screen, but you know, behind the scenes, it was so funny and weird, you know, having to create our environment with nothing being there,” he explained. “There were times where, you know, it would be one Tune saying their lines and we didn’t really know where to look. So we would look [one] way, and then a tune over there is talking and that’s not even the eyeline we’re supposed to be looking at.”

Be sure to watch the video above for our full interview. 

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