When it was announced that the classic 1995 film JumanjiOpens in a new tab was getting a sequel some 22 years later, my head nearly exploded. Not only had Robin Williams tragically passed away in 2014, but there didn’t seem to be anyone clamoring for a sequel to the story of a magical board gameOpens in a new tab that unleashed the horrors of a mystical jungle on the world in which we live. Plus, they already tried to make a spiritual sequel to Jumanji with 2005’s Zathura: A Space Adventure, which turned out to be deeply mediocre. Thankfully, though, the filmmakers hearts were in the right place with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and the results made for a genuinely entertaining, frequently funny adventure movie that trades in board game aesthetics for video game tropesOpens in a new tab in highly effective fashion. And as The Rock has repeatedly said, they wanted to be respectful to Williams’ legacyOpens in a new tab, and pay homage to the incredible family film he made some two decades ago, which they do through various easter eggs.
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One of the biggest ways in which this sequel succeeds, though, is because of the undeniable chemistry between its starsOpens in a new tab–Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas. In fact, the results were so effective that I couldn’t help but wonder, given Hollywood’s penchant for strip-mining our youths for a nostalgia-driven sequel, what other Robin Williams movie would the cast of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle be perfect for? To get the answers the world so desperately needed, Sony brought me to Hawaii to ask the cast in person. What did Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Nick Jonas have to say? Well, watch the video above to find out.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opens on December 20, 2017.
Image: Sony
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star WarsOpens in a new tab and the AvengersOpens in a new tab. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCaseyOpens in a new tab).
