If you've been paying any attention to the world of TV and film, you'll notice that reboots are everywhere. With the trend of nostalgia proving extremely lucrative, it seems like just about every beloved 90's property is being remade for modern audiences. Case in point: The Jumanji remake, which is the long awaited sequel (ish) for the 1995 classic film. Many were wondering how and why a remake would relate to the original, and now we have more details about what the new Jumanji is about.
The new Jumanji movie, titled Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, is modernizing the concepts from the original movie. Rather than an enchanted board game, the film's child protagonists will use a dusty old (magical) Jumanji video game to start the film's action. The movie will follow four high school students who find the video game while serving time in detention. When they attempt to button mash themselves, they're transported into the game- and into four avatars of the game's characters.
This news comes to us from CinemaBlend's own Eric Eisenberg, who was present at Sony's CinemaCon panel last night. The first footage from the film was shown at the event, which explains plot details that had previously just been rumors.
The Jumanji video game characters will be played by the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle's celebrity cast. Namely, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan. This should explain why the characters have silly names like Dr. Smolder Bravestone and Ruby Roundhouse.
Speaking of Ruby Roundhouse, these new plot details seem to explain Karen Gillan's controversial costume for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. When the first production still was released, critics were offended to see Gillian wearing an inexplicably sexy outfit, especially in the jungle. But now this costume choice appears to be a bit of social commentary. Female characters in video games are often wearing ridiculous outfits that show off their consistently curvy figures. It's safe to assume that Welcome to the Jungle will address this when one of the teenagers steps into the character, especially when that teenager happens to be female.
Overall, it truly does seem like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is aiming to set itself apart from the Robin Williams classic. Nearly no trace of the original film seems to be present in the new one, with the exception of the name. Additionally, it looks like we'll spend the majority of the new film actually in the jungle itself, which was never really explored in the 1995 Jumanji.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will hit theaters this holiday season, on December 22nd, 2017. In addition to the aforementioned cast, the movie will also star Nick Jonas, Missi Pyle, and Bobby Cannavale, and Alex Wolff. For a full list of 2017 releases, be sure to check our schedule and mark your calendar!
