Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle served as a sequel to 1995’s Jumanji starring Robin Williams and was a huge box-office smash along with being a relatively good popcorn flick. The film starred powerhouse Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan and it’s safe to say that the studio would be looking for a third film to top it all off… they are.
Welcome to the Jungle earned a nomination at the 2018 Saturn Awards for Best Fantasy Film. Collider managed to speak with director Jake Kasdan briefly on the red carpet before the ceremony began. Kasdan was asked on the development process for Jumanji 3 which has been slated for a December 13, 2019 release date and it looks like they have some plans in store for the next one, albeit it’s still a work in progress. He said:
“We’re writing the movie right now and all the guys I’m working on that with, they’re here tonight. We’re just figuring out exactly what the next movie’s gonna be and I’m happy to say that we’re making nice progress on it.. we got some exciting stuff going”
It does seem like they’re not quite there yet but Kasdan seems like such a nice guy, it’s hard to not root for him. He does seem like he’s really trying to provide a strong story instead of another Hollywood churn out. This is a big film after all with a release date in mind, so there’s still a some pressure to make the film asap and churn it out. When asked about this, he said:
I do feel that pressure.. I had this conversation several times lately, we feel like we… you know, it’s gonna be quick but we feel like we have an idea that we’re excited about… we’re at least off to a good start”.
Hopefully they focus on that idea instead of that deadline cause I’d hate to see Kasdan screw up simply cause he’s honestly such a nice guy. In all seriousness, he seems to have a grasp of what he wants to do for the next one or at least passion and hopefully the pressure doesn’t get to him. Granted, he made some duds in the past but take into account that the original Jumanji was met with mixed reviews and Welcome the Jungle has a higher score on Rotten Tomatoes with a 76% as compared to the original’s 53%. Perhaps Kasdan can provide us with the best in the series with the third one.
Source: Collider
