‘Jumanji’ Sequel Is ‘Officially Underway,’ Says The Rock

The next Jumanji movie is officially in the works, according to an Instagram announcement from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Following the success of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the 2017 movie that serves as both a reboot of the franchise and a sequel to the original, Johnson said that the next movie is “officially underway.” PopCulture.com reported that Johnson shared a post on Instagram that showed the actor sitting around a table with his colleagues that include Jake Kasdan, the writer and director for both Welcome to the Jungle and the next Jumanji movie that doesn’t yet have a name.

“Ladies, gents and children of all ages. The JUMANJI SEQUEL is officially underway,” Johnson’s Instagram post said. “Holy shit what a dynamite pitch from our writer/director Jake Kasdan. We couldn’t stop laughing and most importantly – like our first JUMANJI – the HEART in our story is our anchor.”

Johnson couldn’t help but take a dig at fellow actor and comedian Kevin Hart as well who also starred in the recent Jumanji movie by revealing a “spoiler” that Hart’s character dies within the first few moments of the movie, something that he says the audience should be happy to hear.

“And sorry for the spoiler but @kevinhart4real dies in the first 15 seconds of the movie, to what I’m assuming will be a HUGE standing ovation from the audience and the cast.”

This isn’t the first that we’ve heard of the next Jumanji movie though. Not long ago, the first promotional poster for the sequel to Welcome to the Jungle was shared during an awards event. The poster showed the silhouettes of Karen Gillan, Johnson, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart standing in front of the Jaguar Statue that was a pivotal location in the most recent movie. A name wasn’t revealed on the poster with the only text saying that the next chapter in the Jumanji series would be coming to theaters.

A release date and name for the next movie isn’t known right now, but there is a timeframe for when it’s expected to be out. Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman said in the past that the company is targeting a December 2019 release for the film, a timeframe that would put it up against other hit franchises like Star Wars.