New Jumanji Trades In Magic Board Game For Magic Video Game
When Sony announced its plan to reboot Jumanji back in 2012, the studio promised to “update” the beloved story for the present. Five years later, the new Jumanji film has an all-star cast, an official title, a release date, and an update that no one saw coming.
It’s official: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a continuation of the 1995 classic story about a magical board game (not a reboot), but the film won’t feature the board game at all. Surprise! Jumanji has been reimagined as a “classic, ’90s-era video game console,” complete with avatars that look a lot like stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan.
New footage shown during CinemaCon on Monday (March 27) confirmed that the movie will center around a video game that traps its players, not around the board game that was featured in the Robin Williams original. Even better, the main protagonists are actually four wildly different teens who get sucked into the game after discovering the old console during detention. The game transports them to the jungle (hence the title) and into the bodies of their avatars (hence the cartoonish names like Ruby Roundhouse).
The “crowd-pleasing” footage was apparently a hit with critics.
I love the premise of the new #Jumanji. The teens turn INTO the characters in the game, so a pretty girl is stuck in Jack Black’s body, etc.
— Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) March 28, 2017
And yes, Karen Gillan’s character’s outfit is part of the joke/premise, thank god. #Jumanji
— Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) March 28, 2017
The new Jumanji looked super fun! Updated from board game to an N64 style video game where @TheRock et al are avatars for high school kids.
— Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) March 28, 2017
#Jumanji looks funny, lots of action – detention kids sucked into a video game, become avatars. Hot cool girl is Jack Black. #Cinemacon
— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) March 28, 2017
I enjoyed the Jumanji trailer. It’s definitely geared to younger audiences but it looks like a lot of fun.
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) March 28, 2017
No bullshit the Jumanji trailer looks fantastic. Big action, funny dialogue, and all around well cut. Could be huge hit. Def want to see it.
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) March 28, 2017
Fans of the OG Jumanji can expect some homages to the 1995 classic. The footage reportedly featured a stampede of “wild, running CGI rhinos,” which is a memorable scene ripped from the original. Johnson has also promised that the film will pay tribute to the late Williams and his character, Alan Parrish, in a way that will make fans proud.
Still, the question remains: Who is the sick person responsible for all of these incredibly suspect Jumanji products? And is that the same jungle where Alan spent 26 years of his life?!
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle hits theaters December 22.
