Since the dismal failure of Black Adam marked the biggest professional embarrassment of his career once all his talk of changing the hierarchy of power was blown apart in a second by James Gunn and Peter Safran, Dwayne Johnson looks set to double down on his status as perhaps the single most risk-averse A-lister in Hollywood.
The actor and producer’s upcoming slate includes Prime Video’s blockbuster festive action comedy Red One, potential back-to-back sequels for Netflix’s biggest-ever original hit Red Notice, and a live-action remake of Moana that will see him reprise the role of Maui. After that, nobody knows for sure what’s next, but The Rock seems to be hinting it could be another Jumanji.
In fairness, Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level are a pair of the most fun-filled and entertaining reboots of the last decade, and combining to earn well over a billion and a half dollars at the box office underlines that there’s a massive audience out there eager to see more. For whatever reasons, though, a third installment – or fourth if you include the beloved Robin Williams original – appears to be stuck in developmental stasis.
Wrangling stars on the caliber of Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan together at the same time for a shoot that would need to stretch on for months on end is probably one of the main sticking points, but the former professional wrestler’s acknowledgement of “the next Jumanji” does make it sound as if he’s planning to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later.