It’s been sixteen years since the release of Spike Lee‘s HE GOT GAME. A lot of time has passed that one would figure if they wanted to make a sequel they would have already done it. Lee has never directed a sequel to one of his films, and I don’t think that this would be the first. The film did receive plenty of acclaim especially for Ray Allen who left the court to play the leading role of Jesus Shuttlesworth. Roger Ebert even said that it was rare to see an athlete that could actually act. He’s right, though.
The movie starred Denzel Washington as the father of Allen who had to convince his son to play for the governor’s alma mater to reduce his own prison sentence.
Some time last year when Lee went to watch the Miami Heat, the team Allen currently plays point guard for, there was chatter from the director about making a second installment. Lee did remake a film, so maybe the chance is more likely than I originally imagined.
Recently ESPN spoke with Allen who said this about the potential of getting a sequel going:
Sequels to most movies are always fluff and not as good as the first. But it’s something we’ve been talking about for the last couple months. If we get a really good story line and are able to bring everybody back, then it would be something worth doing.
His teammates who still call him “Jesus” always mention catching his debut on the big screen:
Not one day goes by where I walk in here and guys don’t say that they didn’t watch it last night or it wasn’t on. I don’t know who’s in charge of delegating what gets on TV, but it seems like that movie’s been on a lot the last two or three months.
Allen is committed to getting the second installment off the ground, and he’s got a long road ahead of him with a couple of cast members to persuade:
We’ve got to get Denzel and we’ve got to get Rosario. Obviously, it’s been 15 or 20 years, so there’s so many new story lines to talk about.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed