Jumanji (2017 film)

Jumanji (also known as Jumanji 2) is an upcoming American fantasy adventure film directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Scott Rosenberg. It is a spiritual sequel and continuation of the 1995 film of the same name, and will have a tribute to the late Robin Williams. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas. The film is scheduled to be released on December 22, 2017 in 2D, RealD 3D, IMAX 3D.

In a brand new Jumanji adventure, the tables are turned as four teenagers are sucked into Jumanji's world - pitted against rhinos, black mambas and an endless variety of jungle traps and puzzles. To survive, they'll play as characters from the game: meek Spencer becomes a brave explorer (Dwayne Johnson); hulky jock Fridge becomes a tiny genius (Kevin Hart); It-girl Bethany becomes a bookworm professor (Jack Black); and unathletic Martha becomes an amazonian warrior (Karen Gillan). To beat the game and return to the real world with their lives, they'll have to start seeing things in an entirely different way.

In July 2012, rumors emerged that a remake of the film Jumanji was already in development. In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia Pictures president Doug Belgrad said: "We're going to try and reimagine Jumanji and update it for the present." On August 1, 2012, it was confirmed that Matthew Tolmach would be producing the new version alongside William Teitler, who produced the original film.

In August 2015, the remake was confirmed when Sony Pictures Entertainment announced their plans to release the film on December 25, 2016. Internet reception to this announcement was negative, with some posters remarking that this announcement came too soon after the death of Williams. The news was also heavily criticized by Bradley Pierce and E! News, the latter of which stated that they felt that the remake was "unnecessary and kind of insulting". On October 23, 2015, Scott Rosenberg was hired to rewrite the script for the film and it was the studio's high priority film to make. On January 14, 2016, Deadline reported that Jake Kasdan had been hired to direct the film from a script by Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, based on draft by original writers, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.