Actor Dwayne Johnson has announced the start of production on the much-awaited Jumanji 3, which he described as a “massive, fun, heartfelt adventure”.
Along with Johnson, the lead cast members including Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan recently sat down for their first table read. Sharing multiple photos, Dwayne Johnson said, "Feels emotionally appropriate for our beloved Jumanji franchise to end on this beautiful grace note of our final film. Amazing to get the whole gang back together, and our jaws were hurting from laughing so hard."
The film kickstarted production in Los Angeles. The first two parts were filmed in Hawaii and Atlanta. Jake Kasdan, who helmed Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level is returning to direct the third part, which is slated for a release for Christmas next year.
Along with his lengthy note, Dwayne also revealed an easter egg regarding his character Dr. Smolder Bravestone. He said that Bravestone will be wearing a pair of dice as a necklace which are from the original 1995 Jumanji, a tribute to the late Robin Williams, who headlined the first film.
Actors Alex Wolff, Madison Iseman, Ser’Darius Blaine, and Morgan Turner, who played the real-world teens in the previous two films, are also expected to return, along with Awkwafina. Produced by Matt Tolmach, Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Kasdan, Jumanji 3 has a screenplay by Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, who also wrote the earlier installments.
The original Jumanji, directed by Joe Johnston was released in 1995 starring Robin Williams and Kirsten Dunst. An animated television series was also aired from 1996 to 1999, which was followed by a spin-off film, Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005). Kasdan and Johnson rebooted the franchise in 2017 titled Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. A sequel Jumanji: The Next Level was released in 2019.
While the original movie followed a group of kids who unleash a safari game into the reality of their hometown, Welcome to the Jungle focused on a group of teenage friends getting trapped inside a video game as a collection of adult avatars.