A remake of the 1995 fantasy film film Jumanji was announced earlier this year, but the film’s star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson went to his Instagram account to confirm the production:
“It’s OFFICIAL: Love this script! Big movie news that me and my canine gal Shang are excited to share;) To produce, create and deliver original properties to fans like HBO’s #ballers to this summer’s #CentralIntelligence is one of the best parts of my job. But to take great properties that are beloved worldwide like #BAYWATCH and #RAMPAGE and have the opportunity reimagine their stories in dope new ways to a whole new generation is truly an honor.
It’s official. We’ll produce and deliver to a whole new generation a title that I love and is one of my all time favs: There’s games you play for fun…then there’s games that change your life. JUMANJI Working on edging up an already very good script with my @sevenbucksprod team. Up next is meeting with our producer Matt Tolmach and director Jake Kasdan. Shooting starts this fall. Promise to deliver something cool and special.. and not screw the whole damn thing up;). As always I’ll keep you posted. This is gonna be fun. #JUMANJI #JungleLife #JustPressStart #SONYPictures.”
The original Jumanji, starring Robin Williams, was loosely based on the book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. Van Allsburg also authored the book’s loose sequel, Zathura, which itself was adapted into a film directed by Jon Favreau, though the films themselves are not actually related to one another (an animated Jumanji series also followed the release of the film). While the original Jumanji was a decent film, it’s far from William’s best movie. That said, it still seems a bit chancy to remake a Robin Williams film.