If you aren’t aware, the original Robin Williams-led Jumanji (1995, Sony Pictures) had a sequel. I bet some of us watched it without noticing, even though the infamous fictional board game was right there in our faces. It was Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005, Sony Pictures).
It is a sequel, book-wise. But movie-wise, the direct sequel would be Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017, Sony Pictures), which was then followed by Jumanji: The Next Level (2019, Sony Pictures).
And now, seven years on, there’s another sequel, and it’s called Jumanji: Open World. And I thought the Next Level did close the adventure pretty nicely. It did not, apparently, but I am not complaining because I am so looking forward to it after watching the official trailer.
Why? Because it isn’t using the old formula of getting sucked into a video game, well, at least not all of it. This time, the video game comes to them in the real world. Tell me that does not sound like a shitload of fun?
Jake Kasdan, who directed the 2017 and 2019 Jumanji movies, is at the helm again. He is also a coproducer and co-writer of the new story alongside Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg.
Not much of the plot has been revealed in writing, but the trailer offers some pretty good insights. That said, spoiler haters should go no further. It is time to turn back if you hate spoilers.
We learn from the official trailer why it is called Open World. For reasons unknown to us, the video game characters—namely Dr. Bravestone, Professor Oberon, Finbar, Roundhouse, and apparently McDonough—have escaped into the real world, along with other characters and things that should have remained inside the game.
That’s as far as we know. But the rest should involve getting the characters back into the game, as well as the classic gamers-in-the-characters routine.
Skip ahead for the aforementioned trailer. Jumanji: Open World will hit theaters on Christmas Day, December 25, 2026.
Image: Sony Pictures.
