With nostalgia remaining the most profitable and popular trend in the moviemaking business, it seems that no property is safe from being revived or given an long awaited sequel. One surprisingly successful reboot came with last year's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The Rock-lead blockbuster succeeded by crafting its own corner of the greater franchise, while making one or two quick references to Robin Williams' hero Alan Parrish from the original flick. A threequel is being developed, so should we expect a more concrete connection to the first movie? Director Jake Kasdan recently spoke to the plan to keep Jumanji 3 connected to the greater franchise, saying:
Our hope is to keep a long continuity through the whole thing, even though the story that we're telling in the second movie, the movie that we're working on right now is much more connected to the first movie that I made a year ago than it is to the original. We love the idea of keeping all of this together and connected in some way or another.
It looks like Jumanji 3 will largely be connected to the events of Welcome to the Jungle. So while there may be another sly reference to Alan and the classic 1995 blockbuster, it seems that there's a new story being told through the video game format and new cast of heroes.
Jake Kasdan's comments to Slash Film are probably the right call, despite the fandom's eagerness for crossovers and references to the original Jumanji movie. Welcome to the Jungle did well with audiences because it distanced itself from the original. This freed the sequel from comparisons to Jumanji, while also featuring subtle nods to the classic movie that started it all. So doing an about face and making Jumanji 3 super connected Robin Williams' movie seems counterproductive.
Narratively, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opened up a ton of options for the upcoming threequel. Because the A-list cast of lead actors were technically video game avatars, they can return time and time again, each time portraying a different user. This gives performers like The Rock, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas the ability to have vastly different performances each time. Gillan has expressed her interest in playing a male character who is using her avatar Ruby Roundhouse, a reversal of the comedy created by Jack Black playing a teenage girl in Welcome to the Jungle.
Then again, it's also a possibility that the teenagers shown in Welcome to the Jungle might return for another adventure. Simply putting them in control of different avatars would allow the cast to switch it up, while still following Spencer, Martha, and the rest of the kids for another trip through the most dangerous jungle ever.
CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things Jumanji. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
