Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is an upcoming American 3D action adventure film[3] directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. A sequel to Jumanji (1995), the film stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas and Bobby Cannavale. The film is also a tribute to Robin Williams who died on August 11, 2014. It is scheduled to be released on December 20, 2017 in 3D and selected IMAX 3D territories.

Plot:

When cleaning out a school's basement while serving detention, four teenagers find a vintage video game version of Jumanji and get sucked into its jungle setting. They also become their avatars inside the game and the only way out is to play along and finish it.

Cast:

Dwayne Johnson as Dr. Smolder Bravestone, an archaeologist and explorer, Spencer's avatar.
Alex Wolff as Spencer Miller, a nerdy gamer who goes to detention with Fridge, Martha, and Bethany and discovers the Jumanji video game.
Jack Black as Professor Shelly Oberon, a cartographer and cryptographer, Bethany's avatar.
Madison Iseman as Bethany White, the prettiest girl in school and a cheerleader who goes to detention with Spencer, Fridge, and Martha.
Kevin Hart as Franklin "Moose" Finbar, a zoologist and weapons specialist, Fridge's avatar.
Ser'Darius Blain as Anthony "Fridge" Johnson, a football jock who goes to detention with Spencer, Martha, and Bethany.
Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse, a commando, Martha's avatar.
Morgan Turner as Martha Schwartz, a wallflower bookworm who goes to detention with Spencer, Fridge, and Bethany.
Nick Jonas as Alex, a mysterious guide and adventurer in the game who helps the avatars escape Jumanji.[5]
Bobby Cannavale as John Hardin, the antagonist of the Jumanji video game.
Marc Evan Jackson as Principal Bentley
Maribeth Monroe as Bethany's Teacher
Missi Pyle as Coach Webb
Purab Kohli as Sanju
Rhys Darby as Nigel
Tim Matheson as Old Man Vreeke

Production Development:

In July 2012, rumors emerged that a remake of the film Jumanji was already in development. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia Pictures president Doug Belgrad said: "We're going to try and reimagine Jumanji and update it for the present." On August 1, 2012, it was confirmed that Matthew Tolmach would be producing the new version alongside William Teitler, who produced the original film.

In August 2015, the remake was confirmed when Sony Pictures Entertainment announced their plans to release the film on December 25, 2016. Internet reception to this announcement was negative, with some posters remarking that this announcement came too soon after the death of Robin Williams. The news was also heavily criticized by Bradley Pierce as well as E! News which stated that they felt that the remake was "unnecessary and kind of insulting". On October 23, 2015, Scott Rosenberg was hired to rewrite the script for the film and it was the studio's high priority film to make. On January 14, 2016, Deadline reported that Jake Kasdan had been hired to direct the film from a script by Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, based on a draft by original writers, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.

On April 15, 2016, Variety reported that Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart were in early talks to star in the film, while both actors have other projects to shoot which might create schedule conflicts. Later, Johnson confirmed his casting through his Instagram account. On July 2016, it was reported that Nick Jonas had joined the film's cast along with the confirmed casting of Johnson, Hart and Jack Black. In August 2016, Johnson clarified that the film would not be a reboot, but a continuation of the 1995 film, and announced that Karen Gillan had joined the cast. On September 20, 2016, Ser'Darius Blain and Madison Iseman were cast in the film, with Blain playing Anthony "Fridge" Johnson, and following them on September 22, 2016, Rhys Darby, Morgan Turner, and Alex Wolff joined the cast. Darby will play Nigel, and Wolff will play Spencer. In November 2016, Bobby Cannavale announced his involvement in the film. In December 2016, Tim Matheson joined the cast of the film, portraying the role of Old Man Vreeke.

James Newton Howard was originally attached to compose the film's score, when the film's release date was pushed back half a year, he was replaced by Henry Jackman.

In March 2017 during CinemaCon, it was announced that the complete title of the film would be Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The plot is about teenagers tasked with cleaning out a school's basement who find a vintage video game version of Jumanji and get sucked into the jungle setting of the first film. While many fans theorised whether the film was a sequel, or a reboot, the second trailer, which was released on September 20, 2017, revealed that the film takes place over twenty years after the events of the first film.

Filming:
Filming began in September 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Release:

In August 2015, Sony set the film a release date for December 25, 2016. It was then pushed back a year to December 20, 2017. A trailer was released online on June 29, 2017. A second trailer was released on September 20, 2017, which received more positive feedback than the first trailer.