New Adventures With Familiar And New Faces In Jumanji: The Next Level

Sony has released its trailer for Jumanji: The Next Level. The studio pulled a cat out of the hat with 2017’s hit, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. When the studio announced they were working on a reboot of the late Robin William’s 1995 classic, Jumanji, suffice to say the internet wasn’t pleased. But with a great cast and a fresh new spin, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle exceeded expectations. 

Welcome to the Jungle pulled in a whopping 962 million dollars at the global box office. And that success seems to have bred a sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level. In this much-anticipated sequel, our heroes are back for added fun, adventures and near-death experiences. The trailer features a host of scintillating experiences so let’s run down through them. 

Trailer Analysis For Jumanji: The Next Level 

The trailer picks up after the events of the previous movie. But something is different, it seems that Spencer (Alex Wolff) appears to have gone missing inside the game. What’s even worse is that the game is malfunctioning. This makes Spencer’s grandfather (Danny DeVito) and his grandfather’s friend (Danny Glover) get sucked into the game.

The malfunctioning game leads to both DeVito and Glover to be played by Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart respectively. This new change should come as a welcome twist to the story. And from watching the trailer, DeVito as Johnson looks to be this movie’s iteration of Jack Black playing Bethany. The trailer also shows our heroes heading off to a new level, literally because “the future of Jumanji is in your hands.”

The movie’s official movie synopsis reads, “As they return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.” Same heroes, but a whole new different game with higher stakes, and certainly more difficult missions to accomplish. 

Bethany is no longer inside Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black), Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain) gets the honors this time. Ruby Roundhouse will still be played by Martha (Karen Gillan).  With that in mind, and all four characters accounted for, we’re left with some questions. Where or whose body is Bethany occupying seeing as we saw her enter the game? Where is Spencer as well? He was sucked into the game first but we don’t see him as any of the four. If this is a new level, does that mean there are new characters as well? 

Either way, Jumanji: The Next Level seems to be squaring up to be a fun experience for kids, adults and the whole family. 

Jumanji: The Next Level Cast

Most of the original cast will return for The Next Level. Dwayne Johnson will play as Dr. Smolder Bravestone. Kevin Hart is Franklin Finbar, Jack Black is Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon. Karen Gillan is Ruby Roundhouse and Nick Jonas will play as Jefferson “Seaplane” McDonough.  

New cast members such as Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians star Nora Lum, popularly known as Awkwafina will join the cast. Household names and Hollywood A-Listers Danny DeVito and Donald Glover are also set to appear. 

Jumanji: The Next Level opens in theatres December 13th.