Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will star in an upcoming remake of the 1997 film Air Bud, about a basketball-playing Golden Retriever.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is set to star in the upcoming Disney remake of Air Bud, a 1997 film about a Golden Retriever named Buddy who excels at basketball.
Per unconfirmed reports, Dog O’ Day has learned James will portray Coach Arthur Chaney, who was played by Bill Cobbs (Night at the Museum, Paulie, Santa Paws 2) in the original 1997 film.
This will be the latest acting gig for James who has appeared in the 2015 Amy Schumer film Trainwreck and will star in the 2021 Space Jam sequel, Space Jam 2, produced by his production company SpringHill Entertainment, which Fetch It Sports has indicated will also produce the Air Bud reboot.
July 16, 2021 🎥🏀🥕 #SaveTheDate pic.twitter.com/qV1Tnxuksd
— SpringHill (@makespringhill) February 22, 2019
Joining James is Olivia Rodrigo (Bizaardvark) who will play a gender-swapped version of Kevin Zegers’ character Josh Framm, renamed Jessica, who will be a high school freshman trying to make the basketball team after her family moves to Fernfield, Washington.
Disney alumna Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire, A Cinderella Story) will play Jessica’s mom Jackie, while Alyvia Alyn Lind, the younger sister of Natalie Alyn Lind from The Gifted, will play Jessica’s sister Andrea.
The original Buddy, who also played Comet on the ABC sitcom Full House, died of cancer shortly after the first movie, but the character of Buddy went on to play football, soccer, baseball, and volleyball in multiple Disney sequels.
Per unconfirmed Fetch It Sports reports, Disney employees hope to be able to cast a real-life descendant of Buddy in the role. However, Fetch It Sports says they are considering using a different breed if the basketball skills are there, which should raise the ire of fans.
It is currently unknown whether the movie will be released in theaters or via Disney Plus, but it will likely be out on April 1, 2021 or 2022.
While it would be awesome to see LeBron James star in an Air Bud reboot, as far as we know, no Air Bud remake is currently happening. In fact, Fetch It Sports doesn’t actually exist. It did make a pretty good April Fool’s Day prank. though, right?
You should, however, be sure to check out our sister site Lake Show Life for the latest happenings on the purple and gold half of Los Angeles basketball. (And Clipperholics has the latest on the Clippers’ half.)
Happy April Fool’s Day!