The Rock and Kevin Hart to carry on the Jumanji tradition in a sequel, not a reboot
After reportedly displaying some chemistry in Central Intelligence, Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart decided to take their newfound movie friendship into previously charted territory for a Jumanji remake. The project has long been in the works, but it didn’t really gain traction until recently; even Jack Black and Nick Jonas are now circling the film, to provide the requisite sex appeal/comic relief (you can decide who’s doing what). Neither Johnson nor Hart called dibs on the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of the late Robin Williams in the role of Alan Parrish, who was trapped in the Jumanji game for 26 years.
But just as it looked like one of them would draw the short straw, The Rock announced on—where else?—Instagram that his Jumanji movie isn’t going to retroactively ruin anyone’s childhood. Instead, the Ballers star writes that the new movie is a continuation of the grand tradition of children getting sucked into board games.
So, rather than decide who’s playing Alan and who’s playing Carl Bentley (David Alan Grier), it looks like Johnson is now teasing the founding of a new cinematic family, one that’s presumably not as candy-assed as the Fast 8 bunch.