Back in 2019, word leaked on some of the NBA and WNBA players who would have roles in Space Jam: A New Legacy, although it was unclear how they’d be folded into the script. That ended up getting resolved on Thursday afternoon, when the film’s official Twitter account revealed how those five basketball players — Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Nneka Ogwumike, Diana Taurasi, and Klay Thompson — will be involved.
That quintet will make up the opposing team in the movie, the Goon Squad, and as an added bonus, we learned all of their names.
Introducing the Goon Squad! Arachnneka, The Brow, Wet-Fire, White Mamba, and Chronos are stepping up to the Tune Squad in Space Jam: A New Legacy – in theaters and streaming on HBO Max* July 16. #SpaceJamMovie pic.twitter.com/42tc3pbXJR
— Space Jam: A New Legacy (@spacejammovie) May 13, 2021
* Available on HBO Max for a limited time in the US only, at no extra cost to subscribers. pic.twitter.com/uBPr4inUFw
— Space Jam: A New Legacy (@spacejammovie) May 13, 2021
A fun twist is how all of these names have some sort of tie to the various athletes. The Brow for AD is simple enough, as is Wet-Fire for Thompson, while White Mamba is one of Taurasi’s nicknames. The two most interesting ones are Ogwumike and Lillard, both of which are derived from Green mythology — the former’s name is a play on Arachne, a figure who transformed into a spider (which, having eight arm seems like a pretty big boost when you want to have a tight handle), while the latter is the personification of time, an obvious nod to “Dame Time.”
One thing that is still unknown is how, exactly, the Goon Squad will be formed. The movie takes place in a mysterious virtual space called the Serververse, so it might not be exactly the same as “a bunch of little goofy dudes go to basketball games and steal talent from players mid-game” from the original.
Space Jam 2: A New Legacy debuts on July 16 in theaters and on HBO Max.