Although the original Jumanji movie starring Robin Williams did well enough when it was released back in 1995, the property as a whole has catapulted to new heights of popularity thanks to the newer movies starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. Both 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and 2019’s Jumanji: The Next Level were critical and commercial successes, and along with a fourth movie in the film series being developed (fifth if you count the 2005 spinoff Zathura: A Space Adventure), it’s been announced that the world’s first fully-themed Jumanji theme park ride is opening next year.
Called Jumanji – the Adventure, this attraction will be located at the Gardaland theme park in Ronchi, Italy, which also boasts a LEGOLAND Water Park. While a specific release date hasn’t been set yet, this ride will be made available to the public “at the beginning of 2022 season,” and those who visit it will be treated to “an exhilarating adventure” that’s “full of pitfalls, surprises, and dangers through the wild jungle.”
Described as “a dark ride for adventure lovers of all ages, a wide audience consisting of both families and teenagers and young adults,” you can check out the first tease for Jumanji – the Adventure at Gardaland below:
So if you’re an especially big Jumanji fan who wants in on this theme park ride fun, start saving up for a trip to Italy next year. Still, with Jumanji having become Sony Pictures’ biggest “wholly owned film franchise of all time,” scoring an attraction like this is a logical next step forward with expanding the property. Who knows, if Jumanji – the Adventure is successful at Gardaland, maybe there’s a chance it could be replicated at a theme park in the United States. I imagine it would be a good fit at one of the Universal Studios locations.
While the most recent Jumanji movies are set within the same continuity as the 1995 movie, they serve as a “reboot” of sorts by not only focusing on brand-new characters (although The Next Level did bring back a familiar face from the original), but also transforming the Jumanji game itself from a board game into a video game. Also the original Jumanji saw the game itself unleashing chaos on the real world, but these newer entries follow along the players being sucked into the game’s crazy world, just like Robin Williams’ Alan Parris was decades ago. Welcome to the Jungle scored over $962 million worldwide during its theatrical run, and The Next Level’s global box office haul totaled a little over $800 million.
Jumanji 4 is still shrouded in secrecy, but we’ll be sure to let you know when any concrete detail finally come in, as well if more interesting details about Jumanji – the Adventure surface. For now, keep track of what movies you plan to see in the near future with our 2021 release schedule and 2022 release schedule.
