Tony Hawk has revealed that he was almost part of a Space Jam spin-off film, which would have featured popular Looney Tunes characters.
During a recent appearance on The Pete Davidson Show podcast, Hawk offered a detailed reflection on the events surrounding the near-realization of a movie called Skate Jam.
"I get a call saying, 'Hey, the Warner Brothers are really interested in doing Skate Jam,'" said Hawk. "Just being a father, I know how much these movies resonate. And to make it about skating would be the ultimate dream."
After the call, Hawk explained how the situation seemed to be moving pretty fast. "I was leaving for Australia, and they said, 'We really need to make sure you’re interested and make sure you like it,'" he recalled.
Hawk explained that movie executives showed up at a restaurant at Los Angeles International Airport to get his sign-off. "They presented me with storyboards," he said. "We had a little private room, it was wild. My agent flew in from New York, and they’re showing me all this stuff."
After "approving everything," Hawk confirmed with his team that he would be getting a $1 million upfront for his role in the film before flying to Australia. But in the time that he was out of the country, the situation changed — ultimately impacting the status of the film.
"I came back, and I was like, what’s happening?" he said. "My sister was my business partner and agent at the time, she was like, 'They aren’t calling us back.'"
"Finally, the word came back that Looney Tunes: Back in Action didn’t do the numbers they hoped, and they didn’t want to pour anything else into Looney Tunes," Hawk continued, before referring to Skate Jam as the movie that "got away" from him.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action came out in 2003 and was considered to be a box-office failure, having grossed only $68.5 million in comparison to its $80 million budget. Because of its lack of success, Warner Bros. canceled several planned Looney Tunes projects.
The film’s lack of success could be attributed to what seemed to be a troubled path to production. Warner Bros. had been attempting to develop a sequel to Space Jam since that film came out in 1996. Looney Tunes: Back in Action originally began as Spy Jam, which would have featured Jackie Chan in a starring role.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action was developed by film director Joe Dante, who wanted the Looney Tunes characters in the film to be more closely representative of the original characters' personalities; the director reportedly didn't like Space Jam.
For one reason or another, Dante ended up without creative control on the film, which led to the final product that came to theaters being much different than what he planned to be.
Fast forward to now, Looney Tunes are set to return with the upcoming live-action/animation hybrid film, Coyote vs. Acme, hitting theaters on August 28. Initially shelved in 2003 to be a tax write-off for Warner Bros. Discovery, the film stars John Cena, Lana Condor, and Will Forte.
