Jake Kasdan drops a few details on the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle sequel

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

To the surprise of many, myself included, JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE not only managed to become a box-office success (grossing close to $1 billion), but also pleasantly entertaining, which meant that Sony Pictures soon announced a sequel. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan are all set to reprise their roles, with Jake Kasdan will once again returning to helm the sequel, which will be penned by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. While speaking with /Film during the Television Critics Association press-tour, Jake Kasdan discussed how work is progressing on the JUMANJI sequel.

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 said. 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. JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE just as easily could have been a remake of the original 1995 film, but it was actually a sequel with several links to the Robin Williams film. According to Kasdan, they plan to keep that continuity 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 has been slated for a December 13, 2019 release, but Jake Kasdan said that they'll know more about whether they can make that date once they polish off the script. "We’re going for it," Kasdan said. "We’ll have a better idea in a few months."