Very little has been revealed about the upcoming Jumanji film over at Columbia Pictures. Thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s social media accounts, fans at least know the film looks like a blast.
Along with Johnson, the film also stars Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, and Nick Jonas. Jumanji is acting as a sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams movie of the same name, but feels more like a reboot. The story will follow the events of the first, but it features all new characters.
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What is known about the film so far?
Keeping true to the original lore of Jumanji, the film will center around a living board game. When anyone plays the game, they either get drawn into it, or the contents of the game come out of the board. Robin Williams was sucked into the board in the first film, but audiences never saw what went on inside. The character noted that it was a jungle, and that was made evident when tropical animals were released from the game later on.
The synopsis of the film has also revealed that this movie will take place inside the game’s jungle. When the kids are sent into the board, they become adult versions of themselves. These iterations will be played by the actors listed above.
So, while the first movie took place in the real world, with the creatures from the game unlseashed on the characters, the new Jumanji will follow characters into the jungle itself.
This week, The Rock posted a new picture from the set. The photo consists of him riding a motorcylce while holding a flame-thrower. In the text of the post, the actor posted a cryptic hashtag that could reveal a major plot point.
#TheMostDangerousGameOfAll. What’s that all about?
The Most Dangerous Game is a short story written by Richard Connell in 1924, and it tells the tale of humans that hunt other humans for sport. Since we are believed to be the smartest animals on the planet, the people are referred to as “the most dangerous game.”
Prey that can fight back against a predator is always considered dangerous, and that’s what the title is alluding to. This is also what Johnson was saying in his post.
Think back to the original Jumanji film, and this makes even more sense.
Alan, the character played by Robin Williams, spent years lost in the Jumanji Jungle. Audiences never saw what it was like in there, but Alan told plenty of stories. He mentions that he was constantly hunted by a dangerous poacher by the name of Van Pelt.
If you recall, Van Pelt came out of the board as well, and became the main antagonist for the entire film. In the real world, he was still obsessed with hunting down, and killing, Alan.
All of this alludes to the fact that the players inside the Jumanji game are always being hunted. Johnson’s hashtag on his photo teases a similar theme. Since the characters of the films have been seen using various weapons, this idea makes a ton of sense.
They wouldn’t be using flame-thrower on an elephant, would they?
Jumanji is set to hit theaters on December 22, 2017.
