The Rock loves sequels, from THE SCORPION KING, his spinoff from the MUMMY series, to HOBBS & SHAW, another spinoff from the wildly popular FAST & FURIOUS saga. If Dwayne Johnson finds a character he likes playing — and audiences like seeing him play — there’s a very good chance that he’ll reprise that role on the big screen.
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE ended up being a surprise hit for The Rock and his co-stars, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black. The team worked well together, so it's no wonder that Sony is getting the band back together for a second adventure. We recently found out the sequel will be called JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL, and with a new trailer, Sony also dropped plenty of other details that will help fans get excited for the December 13 release. (That’s right, the JUMANJI sequel will face off against J.J. Abrams’ STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, which opens everywhere on December 20.)
What else do we know?
The Cast
Expect to see the four main leads back for JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL. That includes Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black. Nick Jonas also will be returning to the sequel, as the main characters picked up his character, Jefferson McDonough, as they played through the jungle-based original video game in WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE.
However, as the trailer points out, Johnson, Black and the rest of the cast will not necessarily be back playing the characters of Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Professor Sheldon Oberon and others. Some of them will be trading identities, and some will be pretending to be new characters, played by Danny DeVito and Danny Glover. More on them in a moment.
Remember, these video game characters were avatars of teenage characters who got sucked into the game. And it’s very possible that the teens will get pulled into a totally different game, meaning Gillan, Hart and the crew might need to flex different acting muscles when the sequel rolls around. They'll also see some new locations, beyond the jungle setting.
The Director
Jake Kasdan will be back behind the camera for JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL, as his work on JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE helped ensure that the movie sailed past the $960 million mark at the global box office. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
To that end, Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner were hired by Sony to pen the follow-up story, though the full plot of the sequel is being kept under wraps.
The New Cast Members
The cast of JUMANJI already is stacked with talent, and audiences voted with their ticket purchases that they love this ensemble. But sequels usually get bigger, and JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL will grow by adding three new actors.
Awkwafina, a scene stealer in both OCEAN’S 8 and CRAZY RICH ASIANS (above), will be joining The Rock and Kevin Hart inside of the next video game. They’ll also be joined by two Dannys, each bringing something completely different to the table.
Danny DeVito will play the grandfather of Alex Wolff's Spencer. When Spencer goes missing, his friends from the original movie step back into the game to rescue him. But they will be joined by senior citizens, played by DeVito and Danny Glover. This allows The Rock to channel DeVito, while Kevin Hart will pretend to be Glover. It looks extremely funny.
JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL opens in theatres on December 13. Check back on the AMC Scene often for more updates as the release date approaches.
