One of the biggest surprises that closed out 2017 was the fact that Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle – a sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams-starring fantasy that everyone was sure would be the equivalent of a cinematic root canal – turned out to actually be a fairly decent family film. It also turned out to be fairly successful film for the studio, so much so that they are moving forward with developing a sequel.
Deadline is reporting that Sony has entered into talks with Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle screenwriters Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner to return for similar duties on a sequel. The sequel will reportedly bring back stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan as well as director Jake Kasdan.
Released in the wake of box office juggernaut Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle has still managed to bring in $857 million at the worldwide box office in just seven weeks and was still the number one film at the box office this past weekend. An impressive feat, and a profitable one as well given the film’s mere $100 million price tag.
The original 1995 Jumanji starred Robin Williams as a man who was sucked into a magical board game as a child only to escape decades later, pursued by the jungle animals from the game. The new film saw the game mutate itself into a video game, trapping four high school students inside in video game avatars personified by Johnson, Hart, Black and Gillian. Although it stands alone, Welcome To The Jungle did feature a couple of nods to the original film that suggested they were connected.
