Director Jake Kasdan has confirmed Jumanji 4 is in early development. The Jumanji movies kicked off in 1995 with Joe Johnston’s original film, which reimagined Chris Van Allsburg‘s illustrated 1981 children’s book as a family-friendly adventure starring Robin Williams. While Johnston’s adaptation was a box office success.
it didn’t get a followup until the 2017 sequel-reboot, Welcome to the Jungle. Featuring an all-new cast led by Dwayne Johnson, the revival was an unexpected smash-hit and a sequel titled The Next Level was released almost exactly two years later in December 2019
The Next Level’s Credits Scene Sets Up A Proper Sequel To The Original Jumanji
Jumanji 4 to be “exciting on its own two feet in a way that’s comparable to what the first two were for me,” before reiterating he and his team are still in “the earliest days of trying to figure out what that would be.”
With the coronavirus slowing down development, it’s reasonable to assume Jumanji 4 will take longer to come together than The Next Level did. It might be for the better, though; many reviews felt The Next Level, while a lot of fun, was noticeably rough around the edges in terms of its editing and could’ve used some additional polishing. Johnson’s availability could also be an obstacle.
The actor was in the middle of filming Netflix’s action-thriller Red Notice when it shut down over health concerns and shooting on his Black Adam movie is similarly expected to be delay bad because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Still, for now, Jumanji fans can take comfort in knowing they will get to return to the jungle at some point.
