Before the 2003 debut of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the idea of a Jungle Cruise movie would have sounded like a practical joke. Of course, after the ride-inspired film became a bonafide blockbuster, that prospect eventually became the next big ticket in Disney's theatrical dynasty. With Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt along for the ride, and Jaume Collet-Serra on board to direct the film, fans are getting more and more excited about the adventure. Now, it looks like we've learned a little more about who the actors will be playing in the film.
A leaked report obtained by That Hashtag Show has breakdowns for both Johnson and Blunt's characters, and they're pretty fantastic. Dwayne Johnson is allegedly playing Frank Francisco, the captain of the boat at the heart of Jungle Cruise. Along for the ride on his boat is Emily Blunt's Lilly Houghton, a scientist whose brother's death inspires her to become obsessed with a special mission. While those character descriptions are in obvious need of official confirmation by Disney, these hypothetical details do seem to line up with what we know about the film in general.
Not too long ago, the Jungle Cruise film was described as akin to an Indiana Jones adventure by someone close to the production. And on top of that, Dwayne Johnson himself mentioned that yes, he'd still be handsome as ever playing a character in the 1920s. Now, with the further details that Lilly Houghton's brother was lost to an "infectious disease," it make me wonder if Lilly's sibling could possibly have been lost to the Influenza pandemic of 1918. Regardless, it sounds like a full boat of Disney magic.
With the project coming along quickly after a long period of development, it's hard to believe that we've gone from an incarnation of the Jungle Cruise that would have seen Tom Hanks and Tim Allen starring as the film's functional leads to the Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt combo we're about to see get underway. Let's just hope this new entry into Disney's theme park cinematic universe fares better than The Haunted Mansion and Tomorrowland movies did. With the former film still landing at the bottom of most Disney fan's rankings, and the latter leading to a rather expensive write off that may or may not have lead to the cancellation of another Tron movie, this could be the movie to make or break the future of films based on theme park rides.
Jungle Cruise has no release date set, but if you're looking for some more Disney magic, you'll be able to get some with A Wrinkle In Time's March 9th debut. Past that point, you'll have to use our 2018 release schedule as your guide to further magic.
