ESPN is moving up the release of its heavily-anticipated Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance from June to April, and also released a final trailer teasing the project.
The 10-part docuseries will now begin April 19. The move was announced on Good Morning America on Tuesday in response to sports-starved fans asking for more programming while games are on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“My mentality was to go out and win–at any cost,” MJ says in the final trailer. The clip also features Jerry Seinfeld calling the Bulls “the team of the 1990s”, Magic Johnson praising Jordan as “the most talented player in the NBA, by far” and shots of celebrating Bulls teammates Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen. ESPN further describes the series here:
“The Last Dance” takes an in-depth look at the the Chicago Bulls‘ dynasty through the lens of the final championship in 1997-98. The Bulls allowed an NBA Entertainment crew to follow them around for that entire season, and some of that never-before-seen footage will be in the documentary.
In addition, ESPN spoke to more than 100 people close to the team and personalities who experienced the run, exploring all angles of the Jordan phenomenon.
“As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience,” ESPN said in a statement. “We’ve heard the calls from fans asking us to move up the release date for this series, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve been able to accelerate the production schedule to do just that.”
Jordan, 57, who is widely considered the best NBA player of all time, won six titles with the Bulls in two separate three-peats. He won the scoring title a record 10 times, was the league MVP five times and Finals MVP a record six times. He is currently the owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
“Michael Jordan and the ’90s Bulls weren’t just sports superstars, they were a global phenomenon,” director Jason Hehir said in a statement.
“Making The Last Dance was an incredible opportunity to explore the extraordinary impact of one man and one team. For nearly three years, we searched far and wide to present the definitive story of an era-defining dynasty and to present these sports heroes as humans. I hope viewers enjoy watching our series as much as we enjoyed the opportunity to make it.”
