Pepe Le Pew will not return to Space Jam’s sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy, which cuts a scene showing the French skunk getting his ‘komupance’.
Space Jam: A New Legacy will no longer occupy Pepe Le Pew, depriving fans of the chance to see a filmed scene where the handy skunk learns an important lesson about consent.
Pepe Le Pew’s announced clip from the Warner Bros. movie comes in the wake of a The New York Times article discussing the continued existence of the rape culture of the cartoon character, as reported Deadline. However, the decision to cut the French skunk – and his consent scene with a woman at a cafe (Greice Santo) – was taken when Space Jam 2 changed directors in 2019.
Although the aforementioned consent scene will not be issued as part of current director Malcolm D. Lee’s vision for the film, a description of the scene has been released. The French skunk would have appeared in a black-and-white Casablanca-like Rick’s Cafe series. Pepe is a bartender who starts beating a woman (Santo) at the bar. “Pepe uses his typical arm-kissing motion, without first asking permission, which causes the woman to pull her arm back and ‘Pepe pushes into the chair next to her.’ The woman then splashed her drink on Pepe and “slapped him so hard that he turned his chair until it stopped by LeBron James’ hand.”
The source added: “James and Bugs Bunny are looking for Lola, and Pepe knows where she is. Pepe then tells the guys that the Penelope cat has filed a restraining order against him.” James then informs Pepe that ‘[he] cannot grab other Tunes without their permission. ‘
When she heard that her scene from the Space jam In the sequel, Santo’s representative said: “It was such a big deal for Greice to be in this movie. Although Pepe is a cartoon character, Greice would have wished it would be her if someone were a sexual harasser like him. would clap.the scene is cut off, and she does not have the power to influence the world through younger generations who will watch Space Jam 2, to let younger girls and younger boys know that Pepe’s behavior is unacceptable. ‘
The official summary for Space Jam: A New Legacy read,
During a trip to the Warner Bros. studio, NBA superstar LeBron James and his son accidentally get caught up in a world that Warner Bros. already has. contains. ‘stories and characters, under the control of a dysfunctional, almighty force called Al G. With the help of Bugs Bunny, LeBron must travel through a world never before imagined filled with iconic movie scenes and characters, while turning the Looney Tunes around to save his prodigal son. To get back home, Lebron and the Tunes must unravel Al G’s enigmatic plan and win an epic basketball game against digital super-versions of the NBA and WNBA’s biggest stars as the world watches.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee, Space Jam: A New Legacy stars LeBron James, Don Cheadle and Sonequa Martin-Green. The film hits theaters and on HBO Max July 16th.
Source: Deadline
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