Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black are heading to our society this time around in Jumanji 3.
The trio of stars hit the CinemaCon stage in Las Vegas to debut the first footage from the forthcoming film, which revealed its title as Jumanji: Open World. “We are pumped about being back for another Jumanji,” Hart noted.
Black said, “I’ve never had more fun working on a movie. This is my favorite so far.” Hart joked that he didn’t quite agree and said about shooting the film alongside frequent co-star Johnson: “It was work.”
“You don’t fucking know these people,” Hart quipped as Johnson tried to thank some of the exhibition executives in the audience. “It’s such Hollywood bullshit.”
Johnson offered a sentimental moment when sharing that half the dice in the new film was the one used in Robin Williams’ 1995 Jumanji: “Robin, as we like to say, this one’s for you.”
The trailer shows Johnson, Black, Hart and Karen Gillan in the real world as stilted versions of the video game avatars they play. Alex Wolff’s character explains of the characters, “They’re stuck in demo mode.”
Black adds, “I’m beginning to suspect we’re not in Jumanji.“
Later, when Johnson is told to slow his car down, he warns, “I’d like to see them try.”
This film stems from 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which rebooted the franchise after Robin Williams starred in a 1995 feature version adapting Chris Van Allsburg’s 1981 children’s book. Jake Kasdan, who directed the 2017 movie and its 2019 sequel, returns to helm the third film from a script he co-wrote with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. It hits theaters Dec. 25.
The cast for the forthcoming film includes Nick Jonas, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Lamorne Morris and Danny DeVito.
Welcome to the Jungle focused on a group of teenage friends getting trapped inside a video game as a collection of adult avatars. It hit theaters in December 2017 and surpassed $950 million at the global box office. The 2019 sequel, subtitled The Next Level, topped $801 million globally.
CinemaCon is the annual event for exhibitors and Hollywood studios that runs this year from April 13-16. It is the official convention of Cinema United.