Is Jumanji 4 Still Happening?

The original Jumanji film of 1995 was a massive hit. It wasn’t followed by a sequel at the time, but in recent years the franchise has undergone a resurgence. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level were both successful and cleaned up at the box office. They were also met with strong critical acclaim.

Now, viewers are desperate to see these pictures followed up with another instalment. Rumours suggest that it is in the works, but there is no word yet about an expected release date.

A Hugely Successful Franchise
Since returning to screens in 2017, Jumanji has been incredibly successful. It was perfectly suited to modern marketing methods, and this meant that the two movies were accompanied by games and other merchandise designed to draw more viewers in. Welcome to the Jungle grossed $962.5 million worldwide, and The Next Level brought in $801.7 million. This success was down to the clever use of the franchise model.

There have been numerous games made about Jumanji in recent times, and these have helped spread awareness of the new pictures across a range of platforms. For example, there was Jumanji: The Video Game for console players and Jumanji: Epic Run on mobile. There was also a board game, Jumanji: The Curse Returns released in 2021 and based on the original 1995 film. In addition to these, the Jumanji slot is a safe casino game that features imagery from the original picture. The thumbnail stands out in bustling slot lists alongside other games like Blood Suckers and Jack in a Pot because it uses the instantly recognisable writing from the film franchise.

Two-Year Gap Between First Two Reboots
There was a two-year gap between the first two offerings in the rebooted series, so it would have been reasonable to expect the third one to drop in 2021. However, production seems to be moving slightly slower with this one, with director Jake Kasdan currently working on another project with Dwayne Johnson. Red One will be released during the holiday season of 2023, and after its production is finished Kasdan will be free to work on the next Jumanji film.

Kasdan confirmed in 2020 that the ideas were in place for a follow-up to The Next Level, and that the pitch was ready to be presented after Red One was finished. According to Johnson, the upcoming offering could centre on the character of Jurgen the Brutal, who was the main antagonist in the previous offering. All the key cast members have expressed their desire to return to the fold, meaning that there’s a good chance that the new film can follow the successful model that made the last two such massive hits.

Despite the wait between Jumanji instalments already being long, fans of the series will have to wait at least another year to see the next offering. Development will likely start in late 2023 or early 2024, and it could be ready to hit screens in 2025.