Awkwafina in talks to join Dwayne Johnson in Jumanji sequel

It came as a bit of a surprise that JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE not only managed to become a box-office success (grossing damn-near $1 billion), but also wound up being pleasantly entertaining, which meant that Sony Pictures quickly got the ball rolling on a sequel. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan are all set to reprise their roles, with Jake Kasdan once again returning to helm the sequel, which will be penned by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, and now it seems that one of 2018's breakout stars will be joining up as well.

THR has reported that Awkwafina (OCEAN'S EIGHT, CRAZY RICH ASIANS) is in final negotiations to join the all-star cast. Plot details for the JUMANJI sequel are naturally being kept under wraps, as is the nature of Awkwafina's character, but THR notes that sources have said the role is "key" and "significant." There you have it.

The characters which Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan played in JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE were the avatars that the kids who were playing Jumanji became, and but will the sequel find that same group of kids returning or will a new group be filling the shoes of Smolder Bravestone, Sheldon Oberon, Franklin Finbar, and Ruby Roundhouse? "We’re just figuring all of that out now," Kasdan told /Film back in August. Personally, I think it'd be more interesting to see a new group take control of the avatars and give the actors a chance to explore some different characters. Kasdan also said that they plan on keeping the continuity with the original JUMANJI going.

Our hope is to keep a long continuity through the whole thing, even though the story that we’re telling in the second movie, the movie that we’re working on right now is much more connected to the first movie that I made a year ago than it is to the original. We love the idea of keeping all of this together and connected in some way or another.

The sequel to JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is currently slated for a December 13, 2019 release