While Pepe Le Pew’s “rape” behavior was apparently considered too problematic to include him in the sequel to ‘Space Jam’, a group of real on-screen rapists is set for a cameo.
The first official trailer for “Space Jam: A New Legacy” was released this weekend – and it shows Lebron James going down not only into the Looney Tunes world for a basketball game like “die” … but in a world full of classic movie characters, hand-drawn or not.
In the new teaser, you see LeBron and co. on a basketball court in a stadium-like setting – which is full of real human appearances by names like Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Diana Taurasi, but there are also big names in the pantheon of the cinematic universe scattered everywhere … like ‘Batman’ characters, ‘Mad Max’ characters, ‘Scooby Doo’ characters, ‘GOT’ characters … and strangely, “Clockwork Orange” characters as well.
Yes, we are talking about Alex and his gang of Droogs – famous for their all-white clothes and bowler hats. And even more famous (or infamous) is his brutal rape scene in 1971 Kubrick film, which is depicted in graphic detail … and is definitely NOT familiar.
Come on, bro, who invited the r * pists to Space Jam pic.twitter.com/Z8i7K8xPhj
– Cosmonaut Normal Marcus (@CosmonautMarcus) April 3, 2021
@CosmonautMarcus
Many people quickly noticed the presence of the Droogs … and questioned why they were in the film, considering the nature of their backstory. There doesn’t seem to be much explanation at this point, other than ‘Space Jam’ putting as many memorable characters from the film into the plot as possible … “Player One Ready” style.
Of course, the inclusion of the Droogs makes you wonder … if they are in, why is Pepe out?
You must remember … Pepe’s clinging approach to Penelope Pussycat was recently put under a microscope and was even compared to perpetuating the culture of rape, which generated mixed reactions. Interestingly, it was reported that Pepe ended up being ax of the new ‘Space Jam’ script entirely after some consideration. It is not clear whether the “rape” criticism had anything to do with it directly … but it seems that WB executives must already be thinking that.
Pepe was featured on the OG “Space Jam” – but it doesn’t appear to be anywhere in the sequence, something that has perplexed some people about priorities and decision making, especially if the Droogs were given the green light to appear.