"Space Jam" forever!

The long-anticipated follow-up to the 1996 movie starring basketball legend Michael Jordan is coming together, with "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler joining as a producer.

LeBron James will star and produce via his Springhill Entertainment company. The basketball champion told The Hollywood Reporter that he loved Coogler's vision for "Black Panther."

As a kid growing up in Akron, Ohio, there were no black superheroes to idolize. "So for Ryan to be able to bring that to kids, it’s amazing," James said.

Rumors of a "Space Jam" sequel have been floating around Hollywood for years, ever since Springhill signed a deal with Warner Bros. At one point, "Fast and Furious" director Justin Lin's name was attached.

But it seems James is focusing on his entertainment projects. Springhill recently entered in development partnerships with NBC and The CW.

With Coogler on board, the sequel now has a hitmaker who has shepherded not only "Black Panther" ($1.3 billion worldwide) but directed "Creed" and produced the upcoming "Creed II."

The first "Space Jam" earned $250 million worldwide and remains the highest-grossing basketball movie of all time. Of course, Jordan was at his peak in athletic prowess and celebrity, just as James is now. This will be the latter's first movie role since he memorably appeared opposite Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in "Trainwreck."

“The Space Jam collaboration is so much more than just me and the Looney Tunes getting together and doing this movie,"  James said.

"It's so much bigger. I'd just love for kids to understand how empowered they can feel and how empowered they can be if they don't just give up on their dreams. And I think Ryan did that for a lot of people.”