Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, made one specific and clear reference to the original film, but that wasn't the only reference to the 1995 Robin Williams feature that was included in the follow-up. You probably caught the reference to Alan Parish, the character that Robin Williams played in the first Jumanji and the fact that one Jumanji board game piece ends up being discovered by our main characters was also made obvious. However, there was another board game related easter egg that wasn't specifically pointed out and thus might have been missed. The large statues that are visible near the end of the film, also reference the board game pieces from the first film. Director Jake Kasdan spoke out as part of the Digital release for the new movie, noting:
The big statues near the temple at the end, if you look closely they're sort of slightly scary versions of the game pieces.
The original Jumanji movie focused on a board game which included four intricately carved game pieces used by the four players. When Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle updated the game and turned it into a video game, the game pieces were replaced by video game avatars, represented by Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black and Kevin Hart. The game pieces were still there, however, as large stone statues in the game world.
From the time that Dwayne Johnson first announced a new Jumanji movie was on the way, fans of the original were skeptical at best. They were afraid a new movie in the franchise would tarnish memories of the original. From early on, it was made clear the new movie would not reboot the series, and would be sure to treat the first film, and the memory of Robin Williams, with reverence. The movie made sure it was made clear that this was a sequel, following the events of the original movie, but otherwise attempted to blaze its own trail.
Following the rousing success of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle at the box office there is every expectation that we'll see more Jumanji movies. This opens up the possibility for many more easter eggs and a much deeper dive into the lore of the world inside the game. Alan Parish spent may years inside Jumanji, who knows what else he might have gotten up to.
Whether you caught this brief easter egg or not, it shows that more detail was put into referencing the first movie than was made obvious in the story itself. It makes one wonder what other easter eggs might have been hidden in the background as these were. It may require a closer examination of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
The new film is now available for purchase via Digital platforms and will be released on Blu-ray on March 20.
