The sequel to last year’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is now in development according to an Instagram post by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Johnson posted a photo of himself laughing and smiling around a table in what looked like a conference room. The star said that he was meeting with Jake Kasdan, who will work as both writer and director on the upcoming sequel.
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“Ladies, gents and children of all ages.. The JUMANJI SEQUEL is officially underway,” Johnson wrote. “Holy s— what a dynamite pitch from our writer/director Jake Kasdan. We couldn’t stop laughing and most importantly – like our first JUMANJI – the HEART in our story is our anchor.”
While Johnson described Kasdan as the writer/director behind the unnamed movie, he confirmed that some of the many hands that worked on the script for Welcome to the Jungle will be back as well.
“Writing with Jake, are our original JUMANJI writers Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg,” he wrote. “Back to produce is my twin, Matt Tolmach and myself, @danygarciaco & @hhgarcia41.”
Finally, he couldn’t resist finishing his post with a dig at his co-star, Kevin Hart, with whom he shared a friendly rivalry throughout the movie’s press tour.
“And sorry for the spoiler but @kevinhart4real dies in the first 15 seconds of the movie to what I’m assuming will be a HUGE standing ovation from the audience and the cast,” he joked.
Johnson tagged Karen Gillan, Jack Black and Nick Jonas as well, and added the hashtag “The Smolder Returns.”
In just over 24 hours, Johnson’s post racked up over 1.25 million likes. The comments also filled with excitement, especially from parents.
“I can’t wait for this!!” one person wrote. “My whole family loves Jumanji. My 8 yr old just got the board game for his birthday.”
“Congrats! We watched again last night and laughed twice as hard,” added another. “Love Jack Black. Brilliant guys you are blessed to have worked with such amazing individuals. We are all in this together.”
The original screenplay for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was co-written by Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna. McKenna is known for working on Community for many years, and has since broken into movies including The Lego Batman Movie and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
While reportedly keeping the original story intact, Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner were hired to overhaul the script shortly before production. Johnson’s post implied that Kasdan, who directed the Welcome to the Jungle, will take a more active role in writing this time around.
