Initially on course to storm theaters in July, late last year Sony confirmed plans to reshuffle its release slate, resulting in new dates for both Jumanji and Edgar Wright’s music-fuelled heist movie Baby Driver. But now that we have our first look at the latter, it won’t be too much longer before the studio lifts the lid on the former, after Dwayne Johnson confirmed via Instagram that the first Jumanji trailer will be screened for those in attendance at this month’s CinemaCon 2017.
Due to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 27th through to March 30th, the annual showcase is typically viewed as the smaller cousin to the mainline Comic Con events across New York and San Diego. But with a record ten participating studios booked in for 2017’s event – Sony included – those attending CinemaCon 2017 can look forward to plenty of surprises along the way.
So far, the first-look trailer for Jumanji is the only confirmed tidbit out in the wild, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on the event as March 27th draws near. In tandem with Johnson’s announcement, a new synopsis has emerged for Jake Kasdan’s upcoming sequel, which not only sheds light on Dwayne Johnson’s Smoldering Dr. Bravestone, but also how his supporting players come to be. There’s also a nod to Karen Gillan’s amazonian warrior, though the logline stops short of divulging the reason behind those “child-sized clothes.”
In a brand new Jumanji adventure, the tables are turned as four teenagers are sucked into Jumanji’s world – pitted against rhinos, black mambas and an endless variety of jungle traps and puzzles. To survive, they’ll play as characters from the game: meek Spencer becomes a stupid and girl-crazy jock (Dwayne Johnson); football jock Fridge becomes a tiny Einstein (Kevin Hart); It-girl Bethany becomes a bookworm professor (Jack Black); and unathletic Martha becomes an amazonian warrior (Karen Gillan). To beat the game and return to the Planet Earth with their lives, they’ll have to start seeing things in an entirely different way.
Also starring Madison Iseman, Rhys Darby, and Morgan Turner, Jumanji is earmarked for release on December 22nd. Other Hollywood tentpoles slated for the same window include Pitch Perfect 3 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. No pressure, then.