Jumanji: The Next Level (2017)

Jumanji: The Next Level is a 2019 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan and co-written by Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg. It is a sequel to 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the second follow-up to 1995’s Jumanji, and is the fourth installment in the Jumanji franchise. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman reprising their roles from the previous film while Awkwafina, Rory McCann, Danny Glover, and Danny DeVito also join the cast. The film’s plot takes place two years after Welcome to the Jungle, in which the same group of teenagers, along with an old friend and two unwitting additions, become trapped in Jumanji once again.

There, they all find themselves facing new problems and challenges with both old and new avatars while having to save the land from a new villain to escape. Principal photography took place during 2019, between January 21 to May 11 in locations including Atlanta, New Mexico, Alberta, and Hawaii, with much of the cast consisting of those from the previous film, reprising their original roles for the sequel. Jumanji: The Next Level was theatrically released in the United States on December 13, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing, under its Columbia Pictures label. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $100 million worldwide against a $125–132 million budget, becoming the tenth highest-grossing film of 2019. A sequel is in development.

Plot.

In 2018, two years after their previous adventures in Jumanji,[a] Spencer Gilpin, Anthony “Fridge” Johnson, Martha Kaply, and Bethany Walker plan to meet up over Christmas break to discuss their first year out of school. The night before, Spencer, feeling despondent that his life isn’t as glamorous as his friends’, gets out Jumanji. When he is late to the meet-up, his friends visit his mother’s, and are greeted by Spencer’s grandfather, Eddie, and Eddie’s estranged friend and former business partner, Milo Walker. Fridge, Martha, and Bethany realize he has gone into the game and they follow Spencer. Eddie and Milo are also sucked into the game inadvertently while Bethany is left behind, forcing her to go to the other Jumanji player, Alex Vreeke, for help. Inside the game, Martha becomes an avatar named Ruby Roundhouse (whom she had been previously). Fridge becomes Professor Sheldon Oberon (who had been Bethany previously), while Eddie and Milo become Dr. Smolder Bravestone and Franklin “Mouse” Finbar (who had been Spencer and Fridge respectively).

After explaining Jumanji’s rules to Eddie and Milo, they encounter non-player character Nigel Billingsley, the game’s guide, who reveals that Jumanji is suffering from a massive drought. To leave the game, they must end the drought by recovering a magical necklace known as the Falcon Heart, stolen by warlord and Bravestone’s rival, Jurgen the Brutal. Transported to a desert to pursue Jurgen, and narrowly escaping a herd of ostriches, the team encounters Spencer who has a new avatar, a skilled female thief called Ming Fleetfoot. Apologizing for their predicament, Spencer joins them. While attempting to escape the desert, they face new challenges and problems, along with collecting a Jumanji Berry and discovering a pool of glowing green water that allows them to switch avatars. However, the group struggles to adjust to the avatar changes: Fridge has trouble figuring out how Oberon is even relevant to the game,

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Spencer’s meekness makes him unable to fully utilize Ming’s skills, Milo’s tendency to ‘take the scenic route’ when talking makes him unable to relay vital information quickly, and Eddie’s hotheaded stubbornness costs the group several lives. Meanwhile, Eddie bickers with Milo, revealing their friendship ended when Milo sold their diner behind Eddie’s back, forcing him into retirement. Traveling to a forest beyond the desert, the group crosses a series of rope bridges, while being attacked by a group of mandrills. Successfully crossing the bridges, they are reunited with Alex, as his avatar Jefferson “Seaplane” McDonough, and Bethany, who is now Cyclone, a black stallion who can only be understood by Finbar. As they rest from their battle with the mandrills, Eddie realizes Milo is terminally ill and wants to make amends before he dies, which leads them to reconcile.

Development, Casting.

Following the release of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Sony began development on the sequel. Kasdan returned to direct the sequel, with Rosenberg and Pinkner again writing the script and Johnson, Hart, Black, and Gillan reprising their roles. During the film’s development, Black confirmed the new film as being a fourth Jumanji film because of Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), serving as the second film and sharing continuity with the other films of the series, with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle serving as the third film. According to Kasdan the film used the working title J-19. The film’s title was revealed as Jumanji: The Next Level. Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, and Danny Glover joined the film in January 2019. Alex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, and Nick Jonas were hired to reprise their roles in February. In March, Dania Ramirez joined the cast of the film. That same month, Rhys Darby was confirmed to reprise his role in the film. Colin Hanks joined to the cast in May to reprise the role.

Filming, Release.

Filming began on January 21, 2019, and took place in Atlanta, New Mexico, Calgary, Fortress Mountain Resort, Algodones Dunes in California, and Hawaii before wrapping on May 11. Johnson made a reported $23.5 million for his role. In the United States and Canada, the film was released on December 13, 2019, in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, IMAX 3D, 4DX, and ScreenX formats. It was released on December 5 in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and several other Asian countries (and also in the Czech Republic). In the Nordic countries and the Netherlands, the film premiered in cinemas day later. The film’s Australian release date was December 26.

Home media, Box office.

The film was released on digital by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on March 3, 2020, and was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on March 17. Jumanji: The Next Level grossed $320.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $479.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $800.1 million, against a production budget of about $125–132 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated that the net profit of the film was $236 million. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Black Christmas and Richard Jewell, and was projected to gross $45–55 million from 4,227 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $19.7 million on its first day, including $4.7 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $59.3 million, topping the box office. It made $26.5 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The following weekend the film made $35.3 million (a total of $59.2 million over the five-day Christmas period), then $26.5 million the next, remaining in second behind The Rise of Skywalker both times.

Critical response.

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 246 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website’s critics consensus reads: “Like many classic games, Jumanji: The Next Level retains core components of what came before while adding enough fresh bits to keep things playable.” On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews”. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A–” on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars, with 58% saying they would definitely recommend it. Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: “More often than not, effects-driven blockbusters get dumber as the series goes along, but Jumanji: The Next Level invents some fun ideas to keep things fresh.” Debruge calls Johnson’s Danny DeVito impression “unintentionally hilarious”, and is mildly critical of some of the off color jokes, but concludes: “The storytelling may be sloppy in parts, but the cast’s collective charisma more than compensates.”

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Sequel.

Dwayne Johnson revealed in a interview that the villain Jurgen the Brutal is actually an avatar of an unknown character, and would be explored in a potential sequel. In March 2020, Jake Kasdan confirmed early developments for a follow-up film. Kasdan confirmed plans to maintain the core cast of the previous two films. The following month, the filmmaker stated that the story for the next installment is in development. In November 2021, producer Hiram Garcia confirmed that a pitch was developed and is ready to be presented to the studio after Kasdan finishes his work on the upcoming Red One. The following month he reiterated plans to develop the next Jumanji, once filming on Red One wraps, stating that this time-table works with the actors’ busy production schedules.

Cast:

Dwayne Johnson as Dr. Xander “Smolder”
Jack Black as Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon:
Kevin Hart as Franklin “Mouse” Finbar:
Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse:
Nick Jonas as Jefferson “Seaplane”
Awkwafina as Ming Fleetfoot:
Rory McCann as Jurgen the Brutal
Alex Wolff as Spencer Gilpin:
Morgan Turner as Martha Kaply:
Ser’Darius Blain as Anthony “Fridge”
Madison Iseman as Bethany Walker:
Danny DeVito as Edward “Eddie” Gilpin:
Danny Glover as Milo Walker:
Rhys Darby as Nigel Billingsley:
Colin Hanks as Alex Vreeke:
Marin Hinkle as Janice Gilpin:
Vince Pisani as Pharmacy Manager
Dorothy Steel as Village Elder

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) Biography, Plot, Casting, Filming, Trailer.