One of the biggest mainstream movie surprises for me in recent years was how surprisingly good Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was. My expectations were down to the floor but I left that screening with a huge smile on my face and I was completely surprised by the solid cast chemistry between Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan. When Jumanji: The Next Level was released, I thought they couldn't get lucky again but I left that follow-up completely satisfied as well. It's a franchise we didn't ask for but maybe one we didn't know we needed. Both films were highly successful at the box office and it seems like a no-brainer that another installment would be in the works. Producer Hiram Garcia has now confirmed that the next film is in the early development stage and he seems very excited about it.
While speaking with "ComicBook.com", Garcia confirmed that a new film is "100 percent" taking place and while they're still in the early stages of developing the project, Garcia says they have big plans for the next installment:
"You know, we're always having conversations, and that's a family, that entire group if there's ever been. It's hard to imagine or remember a time I've been on a set where it's just a beloved group of cast and crew and actors and that's just one of those things where we know we have a really big idea that we want to do with it. We've been discussing it. There's conversations that have been going on & we're in the process of moving that along. I can't tell you anything, but we do have big plans for it and that's one of our favorite projects to work on and that's cooking away."
The "big plans" or "big idea" that Garcia is referring to could have a lot to do with how The Next Level ended. At the conclusion of that film, animals arrived from the game into the real world which could mean that there will be a melding of the character avatars from the game and their younger counterparts that exist on Earth. This approach was at the center of the 1995 film which starred Robin Williams and while each film has offered nods to that movie, the game entering reality would be an even bigger connection to the film that started it all.
2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle served as a direct sequel rather than a reboot to 1995's Jumanji. The story focuses on a group of teenagers who come across Jumanji, now transformed into a video game, twenty-one years after the events of the 1995 film. They find themselves trapped in the game as a set of avatars, seeking to complete a quest alongside another player who has been trapped since 1996. Also starring Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale, Alex Wolff, Ser'Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, and Morgan Turner, Welcome to the Jungle became a bit of a surprise hit, grossing $962 million worldwide and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2017. Jumanji: The Next Level followed in 2019, adding Awkwafina, Danny Glover, Danny DeVito, and Rory McCann to cast, and pulled in $800 million at the worldwide box office.
What do YOU think the big plans are for the next Jumanji film?