Los Angeles: English film Industry star Dwayne Johnson has announced the start of production on the newJUMANJI film, which he described as a “massive, fun, heartfelt adventure”.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday evening, Johnson shared a photo of the cast, which gathered in Los Angeles for the film’s first table read. He said the trilogy will be an emotionally fitting conclusion to the beloved franchise.
“Officially kicking off production of JUMANJI, at our cast table read in Los Angeles – where we will film as well. What a massive, fun, heartfelt adventure. 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. We all talked about how much we’ve missed this kinda joy and fun. Let’s make a good one, he wrote in the caption.
The upcoming film, directed by Jake Kasdan, will see the return of JUMANJI regulars Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan alongside Johnson.
Produced by Matt Tolmach, Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Kasdan, the project has a screenplay by Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, who also wrote the earlier instalments.
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.
Johnson also revealed a meaningful Easter egg in his post, a pair of dice that his character, Dr Smoulder Bravestone, will wear as a necklace.
He said the dice are from the original 1995 JUMANJI, a tribute to the late Robin Williams, who headlined the first film.
The Jumanji franchise traces its origins to Chris Van Allsburg’s 1981 picture book about a magical board game that comes to life.
Sony’s 1995 adaptation starring Williams became a family classic.
Two decades later, its reboot JUMANJI: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) reinvented the premise for a new generation by turning the board game into a video game. The film grossed USD 962.5 million worldwide and was followed by Jumanji: The Next Level in 2019. The movie earned USD 800 million globally.