While not much is known about Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle gave the franchise something of a facelift by transforming the iconic board game into a video game, it certainly seemed at a glance that the series had undergone a soft reboot.
Jumanji's original cast in a cameo, confirming beyond a shadow of a doubt that the new films exist in the same canon as the original.
The Next Level cameo is little more than a throwaway nod to the 1995 film, but it does tease the possible return of some of Jumanji's original characters. While Robin Williams' death will undoubtedly leave a noticeable hole in any major Jumanji throwbacks, there's still plenty of angles that Jumanji 4 could use to reintroduce some big names to the franchise - namely, that of Kirsten Dunst. Her character Judy Shepherd was last seen living happily in an alternate reality with her family. A Jumanji 4 return for Judy would likely make for a more direct sequel to the original Jumanji.
By following on from the original, the franchise could blend the past with the present, as well as clear up some of the alternate reality-based questions posed by the 1995 film's ending while still focusing on the franchise's new protagonists. By bringing back Dunst's Judy, Jumanji 4 would create a narrative bridge between the original 1995 film and its more recent sequels, allowing the now-grown Judy to lend her experience in dealing with Jumanji's encroachment upon the real world. It would likely also bring back any of Jumanji's potentially estranged fans by reaffirming the franchise's roots while maintaining its new winning formula.
A mid-credits scene in The Next Level featured a flock of ostriches running down a busy street, hinting that the next film will almost certainly be set in the real world (where Judy is presumably alive and well). This is further evidenced by the reveal that The Next Level's villain was actually an avatar and that there's likely a real-world antagonist to contend with, which presents an interesting opportunity for the franchise to move away from the video game based stories of Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level. It's also likely that the franchise will find a way of bringing the avatars out of the game in order to keep series mainstays Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black in the picture. If Dunst returns, it could also open the door for the returns of Judy's brother, Peter (Bradley Pierce), and Bonnie Hunt's Sarah Whittle.
There will almost certainly be those that would disapprove of the inclusion of Dunst in Jumanji 4, though. While many would appreciate the throwback, there are a number of the franchise's fans who believe that having the sequels move past the original Jumanji is why they've been so successful. However, it's hard to argue that a little added star power would hurt Jumanji 4's bottom line.
