Back in the game – team behind Jumanji: The Next Level on making a sequel to a hit sequel
- Trying to follow the previous Jumanji film, which grossed nearly a billion US dollars, was a challenge, says director Jake Kasdan
- Producers knew they needed to satisfy its fans while offering something different. New players and switching avatars were the answer
When Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was in production, it was fair to say there was a certain amount of scepticism.
“I think when people first heard about it they were worried about what we would do to something they love and I get that,” says director Jake Kasdan. “And if I hadn’t known what I did know, and had just heard they’re doing a new Jumanji, I probably would’ve rolled my eyes at it too.”
A continuation of the 1995 film that starred Robin Williams, itself inspired by Chris Van Allsburg’s children’s book in which a magical board game unleashes jungle creatures on those that play, Kasdan’s movie surprised everyone – including himself, it seems. Evolving Jumanji to a video game, it followed four teenagers who get trapped inside the jungle environs of Jumanji and – armed with three lives each – must complete a mission to escape.
Playing on the nostalgia for Nintendo and Sega-era video games seemingly appealed to audiences. The film became the fifth highest selling movie of the year, grossing US$962 million worldwide. “I was stunned,” admits Kasdan. “It’s the best kind of surprise you can get with something like this. There are a lot of different ways you can be surprised when you release a movie … that’s the best version.”
Undoubtedly, the popularity was partly for the film feeling like a throwback to the family movies from the 1980s – The Goonies, Explorers, Stand by Me and many more.
“Those are the movies I grew up loving,” says Kasdan, who argues that “a lot of the real estate that those movies had once occupied” has been taken over by animation. In other words, the live-action family adventure movie is not what it once was.
