The Rock Welcomes Awkwafina to the ‘Jumanji’ Sequel Cast

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was one of the top grossing films of 2017, so it’s no surprise that a sequel was green-lit extremely quickly.

Earlier this week, rumors started to circulate that Awkwafina was in talks to join the sequel, which will be hitting theaters at the end of the year. The actress/rapper rose to fame this year after starring in Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians. While it has yet to be officially confirmed that Awkwafina will be a part of the movie, the film’s star seems pretty confident and excited about her joining the cast.

“She’s ready to play in JUMANJI!,” Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock tweeted. “Welcome the super talented @awkwafina to our cast! She lit it up in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and it’s gonna be so much fun workin’ with her. Can’t wait. And when @KevinHart4real annoys you on set, just do what I do and kick him in the balls,” he added.

The jab at Hart comes off the heels of the comedian’s controversy surrounding a series of homophobic tweets that led to him stepping down from hosting the upcoming Academy Awards.

Awkwafina was quick to respond to The Rock’s tweet with four prayer hand emojis, making us think the deal is not quite finalized.

This isn’t the only casting news surrounding the upcoming sequel. Yesterday, it was announced that Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Batman Returns) was signed up to play a part in the film.

“The magic of Jumanji is who becomes who,” Johnson said of the confirmed casting, “and the idea of Danny DeVito joining our cast was too irresistible and something we knew we wanted to deliver to our audience this upcoming Christmas. Dwanta Claus loves everyone.”

The original Jumanji was released in 1995 and starred Robin Williams as a man who had been trapped inside the jungles of a Jumanji board game since he was a teenager. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle told an updated version of the story in which four teenagers were sucked into an old video game, appearing as playable characters rather than themselves.

In addition to The Rock, the movie will be bringing back the star-studded cast from the previous film, including Karen Gillan, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart.

Jake Kasdan is returning to direct the sequel with a script he co-wrote alongside Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. Matt Tolmach is set to produce with Kasdan and Johnson’s Seven Bucks production company.

Sony Pictures has dated the untitled Jumanji 3 for December 19, 2019.