‘Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle’ Sequel Enlists ‘Venom’ Screenwriters, Jake Kasdan Returning To Direct
UPDATE: Since this story was published,The Wraprevealed that director Jake Kasdan is also in talks to get behind the camera for the sequel again. Our original story follows.Jumanji: Welcome to the Junglebecame the surprise box office giant of 2017…and 2018. The sequel to the 1995 adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s children’s book hasearned over $857.6 millionat the global box office, making itSony’s biggest non-Spider-Man movie, and it justtook the #1 spot againthis past weekend after being in theaters for a month and a half. So of course Sony Pictures is putting a sequel together.
Just last month, we heard that Sony Pictures head honchoTom Rothmanwas looking at having aJumanji Welcome to the Junglesequelsquare off withStar Wars: Episode 9in 2019, just as they did at the end of last year. Now, the studio has officially hired two writers to tackle the sequel: the same duo who wroteJumanji: Welcome to the Jungleand followed it up with Sony’s comic book spin-offVenom.
Deadlinereports thatScott RosenbergandJeff Pinknerhave been hired as theJumanji Welcome the Junglesequel writers, though there’s no indication that the studio is looking to set their release date for December 2019 just yet. Sony likely wants to wait until they have a script to determine if they can get the sequel together in time to meet that window.
As of now, there are no details on where aJumanji Welcome to the Junglesequel might go. Since the box office hit took such a drastically different approach to the original concept ofJumanji, one would think that another sequel could do the same thing. Perhaps we’ll see that magical board game that became a video game in the sequel repurposed into yet another distinct object that literally changes the game. But it doesn’t sound like that will happen.
TheJumanji Welcome to the Junglesequel will bring backDwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack BlackandKaren Gillanas the video game avatars of the four high school kids who were stuck in the jungle by way ofJumanji. So that means the video game element will still be in play. That also likely meansAlex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison IsemanandMorgan Turnerwill be back as their high school alter egos, but that has yet to be confirmed.
So what kind of story would bring these four together again and force them to go back into the jungle? Is there a chance we could see the avatars of the video game come into our world, much in the same way various animals and characters from the jungle did in the original 1995 adaptation ofJumanji? Seeing the video game avatars played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan forced to deal with a world outside of the video game could be an interesting concept, almost like the second half ofLast Action Hero.
Anyway, I’m sure Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner already have an idea of where this franchise will go next. If they don’t, the casthad their own ideasfor where a possible sequel could go.
