When we talk about major Hollywood franchises, one that doesn’t usually come up is Jumanji. That’s because while the first film, released in 1995, was a hit, it didn’t get an immediate sequel. Instead, it took over 20 years to return to the world based on Chris Van Allsburg’s incredible book, and then, by the time that happened, it had a whole new cast and feel. That cast, however, also experienced success with the series, but now, with their third film on the way, it’s coming to an end.
Jumanji star Dwayne Johnson announced on his Instagram this week that filming is about to begin for a fourth Jumanji film in Los Angeles and that it’ll be the last one. “What a massive, fun, heartfelt adventure,” Johnson said of doing a table read for the film. “Feels emotionally appropriate for our beloved Jumanji franchise to end on this beautiful grace note of our final film.”
Johnson joined the franchise with 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which saw him, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and Kevin Hart become in-game avatars for a group of high school kids who get trapped in a video game. The film, which briefly referenced the Robin Williams 1995 film, was a smash, grossing close to $1 billion on a budget of under $100 million. Work then began on its sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, which came out in 2019. That film was less of a hit but still made $800 million globally. A third film was inevitable; it just took some time for it to happen. Now it’s happening; it’s once again directed by Jake Kasdan and scheduled for release on December 11, 2026.
And though it will have been seven years between Jumanji movies when the still untitled third film releases, it does feel like a surprise that it’s being called the last film. Star-studded, multibillion-dollar franchises don’t grow on trees, so you have to assume the creative team just felt like, narrative-wise, bringing the story to a close was the best way to make this third movie resonate.
“Amazing to get the whole gang back together, and our jaws were hurting from laughing so hard,” Johnson wrote. “We all talked about how much we’ve missed this kinda joy and fun.” We’ll see how it turns out next year.
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