Zendaya hit the red carpet for Space Jam: A New Legacy on Monday – and was clearly inspired by her character, Lola Bunny. The actress rocked bright patchwork Moschino shorts and a matching jacket with white stilettos, and styled her hair in a high pony with sixties’ style swapping bangs in a look that paid tribute to the badass bunny with attitude.
Zendaya is voicing the role of Looney Tunes’ character Lola Bunny, who first appeared in the 1996 film Space Jam and is Bugs Bunny’s girlfriend.
“It’s pretty exciting. I mean, I feel pretty honored and obviously it is a legacy of its own,” she told ET about the chance to take part in the new Warner Bros film.
“I feel quite lucky to play such an iconic character — at least voice her — so I feel pretty lucky. I think this film, if anything, is about friendship, it is about family, it is about pursuing your dreams and falling in love and following whatever it is that makes you truly happy and fills your heart,” she continued.
“I think I can definitely relate to that, at least with LeBron’s son in this film, because my parents have said it several times. My parents wanted me to be a basketball player, so I know what it’s like to maybe want a different career path.”
Originally voiced by Kath Soucie, Lola Bunny was known for her line, “don’t ever call me ‘doll.’” But when the first trailer dropped in June, some fans were not sure of the new voice work by Zendaya, with many wondering what had happened to the “sultry” tones Lola is known for.
However, it seems like it was always the plan for Lola Bunny to be slightly different than the original, with director Malcolm D. Lee revealing that he never felt Lola was “politically correct.”
“This is a kids’ movie, why is she in a crop top? It just felt unnecessary, but at the same time there’s a long history of that in cartoons,” he said in March. “This is 2021. It’s important to reflect the authenticity of strong, capable female characters. She probably has the most human characteristics of the Tunes.
“We reworked a lot of things, not only her look, like making sure she had an appropriate length on her shorts and was feminine without being objectified, but gave her a real voice. For us, it was, let’s ground her athletic prowess, her leadership skills, and make her as full a character as the others.”
