Serververse Jam/Tropes

Serververse Jam is a 2025 live-action/animated film serving as a standalone sequel/spin-off to 2021's Space Jam: A New Legacy, with Dwayne Johnson as the main protagonist alongside the Cartoon Network characters. The film released in theaters on July 25, 2025.
Johnson, deciding to retire from acting, ends up in the Warner Bros. Serververse by Al-G Rhythm's former crony Pete, who ropes him into stopping a fictional character by the name of Ned Royshen (John Cena) from entering the real word in retaliation to viewers' dislike to a movie he originates from. Johnson is sent to Tune World to team up with the Looney Tunes, but they instead send him to CN City from explicated instructions (and the fact that they're not the main characters of this movie). With help from Mordecai, Rigby, and Dee Dee, they gather their teammates and challenge Royshen and his team of random Warner Bros. characters in a football game (and wrestling match).
==Serververse Jam provides examples of:==
*10-Minute Retirement: Inverted. As Johnson had reminisced on his early years of playing football, and decided to reignite his football career. He ironically ends up coaching and playing football with the CN characters. At the end, he chooses to stick to his acting career after temporarily playing football with his team.
*Actor Allusion:
**Before the football game begins, Ben Tennyson (Tara Strong) roasts Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco)'s choice of style and should have stuck with the jester look.
**Ned Royshen (John Cena) prevents Harley from swearing in front of the child teammates, a nod to how Peacemaker had controlled himself from swearing in front of a classroom of children.
*Absurdly High-Stakes Game: Downplayed. Ned Royshen makes a wager with Dwayne that if he wins, he enters the real world and enslaves it.
*Adaptational Jerkass: Harley Quinn (the Kaley Cuoco incarnation, to be specific) is much more brash and aloof compared to her personality in her show's later seasons.
*Adaptational Skill: Jeff briefly mentions he had taken P.E. classes and knows a little bit about football.
*Affably Evil:
**Royshen is considerate and has some morality in him; he's especially concerned about children's well-being by placing them in suitable worlds. Justified since he's a protagonist from where he comes from and he's new at the whole evil thing.
**Royshen's teammates, the DestRoyers, are all this. Averted with one teammate, Harley Quinn, who's untrustworthy as usual.
*As Himself: Not only does Dwayne Johnson portray himself in this movie, but Zooey Deschanel portrays herself and tags along with Johnson in the climax.
*Aspect Ratio Switch: Like the last film, this was shot in 1.85:1, while certain portions are in 2.40:1 (In the Hogwarts and Middle-earth scenes) and 1.33:1 (the American in Paris scene).
*Big Bad: Ned Royshen, portrayed by John Cena.
*Biting-the-Hand Humor: As Johnson asks Mordecai and Rigby that their home originates to a cinematic universe they had, Rigby responds with, "We're not like DC.", with Mordecai adding that Warner Bros. would "screw [them] over if it was [a cinematic universe]".
*Breaking the Fourth Wall: Courtesy of Bugs Bunny. As Johnson plummets down to Tune World, Bugs fills us in that he and the other Looney Tunes are only appearing as extras.
*Borrowed Catchphrase: Sadie closes the film with Porky Pig's catchphrase "That's all, folks!" (see The Stinger below).
*Breaking Old Trends: A few differences are in this movie and contrast from the last two Jams.
**The movie doesn't open with A Minor Kidroduction like with MJ and LeBron; it opens with a montage of the Rock starting off with his football career to his wrestling career to his acting career.
**As the main duology had focused on basketball, this movie focuses on football and (briefly) wrestling.
**Instead of the Big Bad's teammates joining the main heroes, it's the Big Bad that joins the heroes.
*Chekhov's Skill: Dexter using his soccer knowledge (which he mistook American football for the UK equivalent throughout) is put to good use as he uses his soccer kicks to aim the football to his team's goal.
*Continuity Nod:
**Pete lures Johnson into the Warner 3000 server room, similar to how Al-G had lured LeBron and Dom.
**Before the start of the match, Pete upgrades the CN Superstars into live-action versions of themselves, in contrast to how the Looney Tunes characters were upgraded to CGI. Unlike New Legacy, the CN Superstars are reverted back to their 2D-animated selves in request to Royshen.
*Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Ned Royshen is this to Al-G Rhythm. Al-G was an algorithmic A.I. who was desperate for attention for his accomplishments, while Royshen is a fictional character to a movie called The End Has Come who was content until he discovered how the real world despised his movie. Personality-wise, Al-G was manipulative and maniacal in his goals, while Royshen is more gentle and reasonable. Unlike both Mr. Swackhammer and Al-G, Royshen joins the CN Superstars rather than end up defeated while his teammates are defeated.
*Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
**Dwayne Johnson is this to both Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Johnson is a professional wrestler while MJ and LeBron are both professional basketball players. While Johnson shares the Bald of Awesome trait with Michael Jordan, Jordan had retired from basketball and pursued baseball, while Johnson was planning to quit acting to reignite his football career. Between LeBron James, James was a stern and determined basketball player who tried to make headway with his team, while Johnson is more aloof and tentative and got along well with his team regardless of their differences.
**The CN characters are this to the Looney Tunes. While cartoon characters, not all of them are gifted with Cartoon Psychics and can suffer pain like any ordinary person. In contrast to their films' premises, the Looney Tunes had roped in Michael Jordan for his help to defeat the Monstars in the first film and had helped LeBron James rescue his son from Al-G in New Legacy. The CN characters waste no time in helping Dwayne Johnson get home while Johnson helps them find their friends.
*Demoted to Extra:
**Chowder, Flapjack and Finn had been the main characters of The CN Movie and The CN Show. Here, they serve as background characters cheering them on.
**The Looney Tunes themselves (see Out of Focus below).
*Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When Harley was furious about Royshen breaking off the deal and siding with the CN Superstars, she gives away the fact that she sabotaged Johnson receiving help from the Looney Tunes, much to Johnson's chagrin. As Harley tries to lie about it, she gives up and admits it like she doesn't give a crap.
*Funny Background Event: During the football game, Chowder, Flapjack and Finn can be seen cheering on the CN Superstars in the most humiliating way possible.
*Gosh Dang It To Heck: Harley is a non-stop swearing machine from her world, but has to control herself in front of the younger CN Superstars' teammates. But she drops this trope and cries out "Crap!" after the Superstars win the first half.
*Heel–Face Turn: Pete has gone from becoming Al-G's accomplice to becoming the one running the Serververse with content.
**Royshen himself goes against his team after realizing more of the details of being evil, thus having him join the CN Superstars and defeat the DestRoyers.
*Impact Silhouette: Like how LeBron entered Tune World, Johnson plummets down to CN City (due to Marvin not landing down to the city) and makes a hole in the road shaped like his body.
*Last Name Basis: Dexter spends the majority of the movie calling Dwayne "Mr. Johnson" even though the latter told him he could call him "Rock", but Dexter chooses not to for the sake of formality. It wouldn't be until the very he calls him "Rock" after Johnson gives him his jersey as a memento.
*Leitmotif: Queen's "We Will Rock You" is the Rock's theme, used in the opening credits of the movie and in the climax of the football game.
*Mythology Gag:
**When Johnson first meets Mordecai and Rigby, they can be seen in their signature cart with Mordecai blindfolded while driving and Rigby timing him; referencing one scene in the Regular Show episode "Think Positive".
**Mordecai and Rigby's jersey numbers are respectively 23 and 00, which were seen on the jerseys they wore in a flashback in the Regular Show episode "Mordecai and Rigby Down Under".
**During the wrestling match, Rigby takes on Mr. Smith (Bill Goldberg) with his Death Kwon Do knowledge, using the Death Punch and the Death Block.
**Dee Dee gives the team name "CN Superstars", with the word "Superstars" originating from the Cartoon Network online game Superstar Soccer.
**As Dee Dee stops Harley with a crane kick, she yells "Ashitake!", a battle cry she used when she took judo lessons in the Dexter's Laboratory episode "They Got Chops".
**As Harley Quinn pulls off Daffy Duck's beak to threaten Bugs if he screws with her again, Daffy tells her "Thanks for the sour persimmons, sister."
**Harley says "Run, piggy, run!" to Clarence before throwing the football at him, then says "I'm a bad guy, it's what I do." to Royshen after stabbing Ben in the back; these lines reference those to her DC Extended Universe counterpart.
*Out of Focus: While it's a Space Jam movie, the Looney Tunes aren't the main characters and spend the majority of this film as minor characters.
*Punch-Clock Villain: Mr. Smith, a character from Looney Tunes: Back in Action, leaves in the middle of the first football match; referencing Back in Action's alternate ending.Royshen: Wait, where are you going?Smith: It's my break time.Royshen: But we're in the middle of a game.Smith: Take it up with the complaints department.
*Roger Rabbit Effect: Like the first Space Jam, the 2D-animated CN characters are paired with the live-action Dwayne Johnson throughout the climax.
*Same Plot Sequel: Not only does it take place in the Serververse like in Space Jam: A New Legacy, but it takes some cues from the first Jam.
*Self-Deprecation:
**After Bugs gives Johnson the riddle, Daffy finds it's for the best the Looney Tunes butt out from helping him since they "should have a movie without a celebrity carrying [them]".
**After Pete upgrades the CN Superstars into live-action form, Ned asks he turn them back to normal; this serves as a jab at how the Looney Tunes had spent the majority of Space Jam: A New Legacy's climax in CGI-form.
*Shout-Out:
**Dee Dee calls Johnson "Rocky", which the latter believes references Rocky Boulba.
***Dee Dee later says "Hokey smoke, Rocky!"
**When the CN characters were being upgraded, Dee Dee admires her live-action form (portrayed by Mckenna Grace) and says "Dexter, look! I'm a real girl!"
*The Smurfette Principle: Harley Quinn is the only female teammate of the DestRoyers.
*The Stinger: After the credits, Sadie closes the movie with "That's all, folks!". Suddenly, Porky Pig comes up and doesn't approve of his catchphrase.Porky: If you don't mind... Th-th-th-th-th... (giving up) Oh, f-f-forget it, it's already be-be-be... already be-be... The moment's gone.
*Take That!:
**Mordecai and Rigby make a brief jab at the cinematic universe franchise (See Biting-the-Hand Humor above).
**As mentioned above (see Self-Deprecation and Continuity Nod above), Pete upgrades the CN Superstars; this time, the characters are upgraded into live-action versions of themselves while Mordecai and Rigby are a photo-realistically computer-animated blue-jay and raccoon All the teammates are appalled but Dee Dee. Royshen shows befuddlement by Pete's decision.Royshen: Change 'em back. (Pete immediately does so)
*Token Evil Teammate: Harley Quinn shows no qualms in being respectful or reasonable about the CN Superstars taking the lead, unlike her teammates.
*Toon Transformation: Like LeBron in A New Legacy, Johnson turns into a Tune when entering Tune World. After he enters CN City, his design gets changed to the artstyle of Samurai Jack (courtesy of Uncle Grandpa).
*Trash the Set: CN City has been the CN characters' current residence since the end of The CN Movie and the main setting in The CN Show. Here, like how Tune World crumbled in the climax of New Legacy, the city crumbles when a football stadium forms in the town square. Fortunately, the city is built back to normal after the team wins.
*Would Hurt a Child: This Harley sure has no problem harming the kid teammates; kicking Steven in the crotch, hitting Clarence with the football, and Harley stabbing Ben in the back after the CN Superstars win the first half (no blood is shown off-screen, mind you).
*Vomit Discretion Shot: Gwen throws up after the football was thrown too high and it hits one of the ship's controls, making the ship spin out of control.
Category:Cartoon Network
Category:Space Jam
Category:Tropes