Fox/Disney snags the rights to Jumanji author’s The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

After Columbia Pictures and Sony hit pay dirt with their JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE reboot, it would appear as if Fox/Disney are looking to break themselves off a piece of the Chris Van Allsburg pie.

It's been announced by Deadline that SHAZAM! and GEMINI MAN writer Darren Lemke has been tapped to adapt The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Jumanji author Chris Van Allsburg. The Caldecott Honor medal-winning novel was Allsburg's first, which tells of a young boy named Alan who tries to rescue Miss Hester’s dog, Fritz from the great magician Abdul Gasazi when Fritz accidentally runs off into the forbidden garden of Abdul Gasazi.

Details are scarce on account of the project just having been announced, though we do know that Mike Weber and Bill Teitler will produce, with Ted Field and Chris Van Allsburg himself on board to executive produce.

Meanwhile, the sequel to Sony's JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Danny DeVito, Colin Hanks, Awkwafina, Danny Glover, Madison Iseman, Alex Wolff, Rhys Darby, and Morgan Turner has recently wrapped production and is scheduled for a December 13 release later this year.