Jumanji returns with a new movie after a six-year absence

Since the premiere of Jumanji: The Next Level in 2019, the franchise has been quiet, but that silence has now been broken.

Sony Pictures has released the first image from the new movie, featuring Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black on a snowy Boston street.

The studio has accompanied the image on X with the words “Look who’s unleashed”, and all indications are that this time the avatars are completely detached from the game itself.

Instead of jungles, deserts, and mountains, they are standing in the middle of a wintry cityscape that looks much more like everyday life than anything we have seen before.

Dwayne Johnson has also announced on Instagram that filming is underway and that the team is back together.

While Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level were based on players being sucked into a video game, the new image hints at a twist fans have long wanted: a return to the real world, much like the first Jumanji from 1995 starring Robin Williams.

Reactions on social media show that interest is still strong despite the long hiatus.

From board game to console

Jumanji started as a picture book in 1981 and became a feature film in 1995 starring Robin Williams.

In 2017, Jumanji was reinvented as a video game in the first of two movies starring Dwayne Johnson and co.

Across all editions, however, the same basic rule applies. The game alters reality, and players must persevere until the last roll of the dice.

The franchise has grossed around 13 billion dollars worldwide.

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According to Digital Spy, several details in the new image point to the upcoming film attempting to tie the current series more closely to the 1995 original. One key clue is Dr. Smolder Bravestone’s new necklace.

Johnson has explained that the dice in the image are from the first movie and serve as a small Easter egg and a way to pay respect to Robin Williams.

This has fans wondering if the classic board game will resurface now that the characters are no longer trapped in digital environments.

Final chapter with the team

Johnson describes the new movie as a big, fun, and warm adventure and says it feels emotionally right to wrap up this Jumanji series now.

Kevin Hart has previously hinted that the third movie in this run will be the last in the series with the current cast and crew, and it looks like this plan is on track.

Director Jake Kasdan returns, and the script is once again in the hands of Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. At the same time, there are both new and familiar faces on the horizon.

Brittany O’Grady and Burn Gorman have been added to the cast, and Kasdan has expressed interest in bringing back Kirsten Dunst and Bonnie Hunt from the 1995 film if possible.

The story is expected to focus on the character Jurgen the Brutal, the villain from The Next Level, who is actually an avatar for an unknown player.

The premiere is currently set for December 11, 2026.