The Rock is remaking Jumanji for some reason: good idea or no way?

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Since Hollywood is now where original ideas go to die, Dwayne Johnson has confirmed that he has signed on for the remake of Jumanji, the 1995 film starring Robin Williams. They have been threatening this redux since 2015 but now it’s official. I assume Johnson will play Alan Parish, the Robin Williams role. The original story was two kids who find a board game that releases a man who has been trapped in the game for decades. Unfortunately, a whole mess of danger was unleashed as well like stampedes of elephants, lions, a crazed poacher and terrible CGI. The only way to stop it was to finish playing the game. No plot changes have been announced yet – or explanations as to why it needed to be remade.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took to Instagram today to share that he’s officially onboard to help bring the remake to the big screen, and makes a promise to fans that they’ll “deliver something cool and special.”

With a photo alongside his adorable furry friend, the actor wrote, “It’s OFFICIAL: Love this script! Big movie news that me and my canine gal Shang are excited to share;) To produce, create and deliver original properties to fans like HBO’s #ballers to this summer’s #CentralIntelligence is one of the best parts of my job. But to take great properties that are beloved worldwide like #BAYWATCH and #RAMPAGE and have the opportunity reimagine their stories in dope new ways to a whole new generation is truly an honor.”

He continued, “It’s official. We’ll produce and deliver to a whole new generation a title that I love and is one of my all time favs: There’s games you play for fun… then there’s games that change your life. JUMANJI Working on edging up an already very good script with my @sevenbucksprod team. Up next is meeting with our producer Matt Tolmach and director Jake Kasdan. Shooting starts this fall. Promise to deliver something cool and special.. and not screw the whole damn thing up;). As always I’ll keep you posted. Casting this should be fun! #JUMANJI #JungleLife #JustPressStart #SONYPictures”

[From E! Online]

Johnson sure seems excited about it. I have to be honest, I don’t remember much about the first movie. Bonnie Hunt, whom I love, was in it as well as a young Kirsten Dunst, who beat Scarlett Johansson for the role. Here is a refresher for those who loved it. This (NSFW – language) recap is not as kind but much funnier. I am sure they will focus most of their energy on the graphics, although it would be a riot if they did homage to the first film by having those wonky monkeys in the kitchen or a giraffe walk partially through a wall. Kevin Hart is also rumored to be cast, according to IMDb, so it should be fun. Those two were good together hosting the MTV Movie Awards.

Speaking of casting news – CJ Parker is back! It is finally confirmed that Pamela Anderson will be reprising the role that made her famous in the Baywatch remake. Johnson announced Pam’s return on Friday via his official spokesman, Instagram. I am not expecting Citizen Kane from the Baywatch reboot but the cast might actually be hot enough for me to check it out. Maybe I will mix a vat of Cosmopolitans and do a double feature with Jumanji.

It's OFFICIAL: Love this script! Big movie news that me and my canine gal Shang are excited to share;) To produce, create and deliver original properties to fans like HBO's #ballers to this summer's #CentralIntelligence is one of the best parts of my job. But to take great properties that are beloved worldwide like #BAYWATCH and #RAMPAGE and have the opportunity reimagine their stories in dope new ways to a whole new generation is truly an honor. It's official. We'll produce and deliver to a whole new generation a title that I love and is one of my all time favs: There's games you play for fun… then there's games that change your life. JUMANJI Working on edging up an already very good script with my @sevenbucksprod team. Up next is meeting with our producer Matt Tolmach and director Jake Kasdan. Shooting starts this fall. Promise to deliver something cool and special.. and not screw the whole damn thing up;). As always I'll keep you posted. Casting this should be fun! #JUMANJI #JungleLife #JustPressStart #SONYPictures

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on

Photo credit: Instagram, WENN Photos and Getty Images

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36 Responses to “The Rock is remaking Jumanji for some reason: good idea or no way?”

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  1. lisa2 says:

    NO no no no.. please.

    Has he become the “Remake” guy. This movie doesn’t need to be remade. Beside I loved Robin Williams. Leave it alone.

    • Nike says:

      I love The Rock, but forget this. Just re-release older films in theaters.

      Seeing an older film you love on a big screen in a public theater is a novelty that would sell (particularly, to hipsters). I’m sure they do this some places, but they should do it everywhere… and make a big deal of it.

      Some films, like Gandhi, City of God, and Lawrence of Arabia, were meant for a big screen experience (I know Roger Ebert, bless him, wrote a lot about this).

      I’d love seeing Jumanji or Jurassic Park in a theater. ‘Cause dude… I ain’t paying eleven dollars before popcorn to see Batfleck and Frat Bro blow things up.

  2. NewWester says:

    Again the question has to be asked: Has Hollywood run out of original ideas?

    • OriginallyBlue says:

      Nope. They would just rather throw money at stuff like this than expand the market.

  3. OriginallyBlue says:

    I love him, but he needs to stop.
    This sort of thing is what pisses me off about Hollywood. So many stories to be told by talented people and they get rejected, yet they have money to remake shit no one asked for.

  4. magda says:

    As a kid I loved Jumanji. Even now, once in a while I watch when it is on TV. So BIG NO.
    (In retrospect, Jumanji is probably the reason why Kirsten Dunst is one of my favourites).

  5. Jwoolman says:

    They probably will go wild with computer effects, which have advanced so much. But it was just 15 or 16 years ago, not really enough time has passed for any remake urge. He might pull it off, though.

    I actually liked the cartoon better than the movie, although maybe that’s because I saw the cartoon series first (being too cheap to buy a movie ticket, had to wait for it to come to TV).

  6. MexicanMonkey says:

    Jumanji already barely worked and it had Robin Williams to save it. And haven’t they already made a film with the exact same idea before? Zathuras or something (Too lazy to look it up). Give it a rest, already.

    • Naya says:

      Yes, Zathuras was the wannabe Jumanji with a young Kristen Stewart. Robin made that film, its daft to attempt a remake with somebody else.

    • lucy2 says:

      I was going to say they should just make it a spin off, not a remake, but then remembered they tried it and it didn’t work.
      I loved the original, and while the Rock is great, this seems unnecessary.

  7. Patricia says:

    The Rock does have the sense of heart and sweetness and humor like Robin Williams. However, as sweet and sincere as he is, he lacks the natural talent. This movie will surely not come close to the first, even if the CG is ten times better. Robin Williams made the first one really. The Rock always comes across as corny.

  8. LAK says:

    The CGI in the original film bugs me so much that i can’t have an objective judgement about the film.

    Specifically the way the animals moved, especially when there were stampeding.

  9. Louisa says:

    At first I just rolled my eyes at the amount of remakes happening these days, but now it’s just becoming ridiculous. Don’t even get me STARTED on the Aladdin remake happening, oh my god. No matter what Disney says, they pretty much couldn’t care less about the spirit of their classic movies and these remakes are just there to feed their greed. Nobody asked for remakes of Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, Aladdin, and Mulan. The reason Disney was so successful throughout history is their creativity and charm. Now I guess remakes and sequels are their new image.

    Sure, Mulan might be cool. BUT NO ONE ASKED FOR ALADDIN. It will be an insult to the memory of Robin Williams. Just like Jumanji.

    • NewWester says:

      An “Aladdin” remake? That is just too much

    • Annika says:

      An Aladdin remake?
      Whaaaaaaaat??!?!?!!?!
      🙁

    • Beckysuz says:

      They are not seriously remaking Aladdin? Why??????? Who thought that would be a good idea? The original was a classic. Robin Williams made that movie what it was. He ad-libbed most of his lines. That was just them turning on his mic and him running with it. Yes the music was great and the movie was great in general, but the Genie and his vocal performance made it what it was. Damn you Disney, leave my childhood alone!!

  10. Miss M says:

    Remakes, remakes, remakes…
    Where arr the writers in Hollywood? Are they hiding?

  11. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    Wait. Is Baywatch coming back and if so I politely apologize to everyone I’ve yelled at about gun control and ask you now to please shoot me.

  12. Heat says:

    Kelly Rohr is playing CJ Parker in the movie, so Pam will be playing a new character-likely just a cameo? I was checking the IMDB a few weeks ago, and realized that the Rock is playing Mitch! I had no idea they were playing the original characters before that.

  13. serena says:

    HELL NO! Enough about reboots! God, do they really have zero ideas? Why the need to make reboots out of every single awesome movie/tv show of the past? Leave it alone! Yeah the CGI was awful but for that time it was everything, I loved that movie and Robin Williams as the main character was amazing. I’m sorry but The Rock can’t live it up to that comparison. I still remember shaking in fear as a child when I heard the drums that started the ‘game’ in the movie.. and the emotional moments.. sorry, I’m sure they’d ruin it making it into some advanced CGI- funny movie.
    It also bugs me that he didn’t mention Robin Williams.. it hasn’t been that long since he passed away (a couple of years?) and they’re already re-making his movies? Wtf. Maybe I’m just a little over-sensitive about this.

  14. Sarah01 says:

    I love the Rock he’s just so likeable and easy to watch. As I’ve said before, the remakes generally have more ethnicity and a 21st century perspective. I sometimes like them more than the originals.

  15. vauvert says:

    I love the Rock but this is a bad move on his part. Remaking a recent movie and taking on Robin’s role? Dude, that is not a winning situation, no matter how sweet, lovable and goofy you are. Just no. What’s next. The Birdcage? (Yes, I know, that was a remake of the French La Cage aux Folles. The difference is that most of the North American audience would not have seen the French movie.) Improved CGI is not a good enough reason to repeat a movie.

    I am sincerely bored of the constant influx of remakes. I can live with the slew of Avengers movies, at least they are based on beloved comics, have some fun lines, great action etc. But nobody needs a twentieth freakin’ Batman, a reimagined “every Disney movie ever made”…. Yes, some of the old ones are not PC. They were a product of their times, love them or hate them, there is no need to remake them. Come up with fresh stories in which the princess is black, or Asian, or falls in love with a girl. Or the prince is not handsome, he prefers reading to swords and secretly pines for the hunky gardener. How hard is it??

    • nicegirl says:

      I love the Rock, too – but I think he would be better in a remake of The Birdcage than Jumanji if he had to stick with characters played by Robin Williams. I know you were joking but that would be hilarious.

  16. Zaytabogota says:

    I’d watch anything with him in it tbh, he’s so watchable and likeable so a children’s movie I can bring my kid to the cinema to see without wanting to pull my eyeballs out – great idea!!!

  17. Starkiller says:

    I like him for some reason, but the original was unnecessary, so this one is doubly so.

  18. TyrantDestroyed says:

    Ugh not a big fan if remakes. I think original movies should be left alone.

    • LAK says:

      It depends on the remake. Many current remakes are unnecessary and they are badly remade, but some remakes from the past have been glorious eg

      ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM (1946) remade as THE KING AND I (1956)
      THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946) remade in (1981)
      LES CAGES AUS FOLLES (1978) remade as THE BIRDCAGE (1996)

      Best remake of all, which leaves the original intact: SORRY, WRONG NUMBER (1948) remade as DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)

      If we are to pick from franchises, i’d say THE MUMMY has been hit and miss. The original franchise was great. Not so much the second stab at the franchise. The third stab at it, starring Brendan Fraser was enjoyable, and we are now onto the fourth stab at the franchise with Tom Cruise.

  19. crtb says:

    No No No No

  20. knower says:

    People ALWAYS complain after these reboots/sequels/prequels/remakes are announced.

    But guess what? As long as people continue showing up and paying for this crap, it will continue to get made. Classic ideas and film hits remade over and over and over again.

    When does it stop? When the revenue plummets. Bottomline: as long as there are more dumb people than smart people (which will always be the case), the studios will continue to make money off that majority’s low standards….and have zero incentive to make original stories. Take away the demand and THEN you can get a fresh supply.

  21. Grant says:

    Pam looks fantastic in that IG pic!