There has not been much news on Jumanji: The Next Level.
The Jumanji sequels retooled the premise from a board game unleashing jungle animals into a New England town to a quartet of teenagers being pulled into Jumanji after the game morphs itself into a video game. Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan play the in-game avatars that the four heroes Spencer (Alex Wolf), Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain), Bethany (Madison Iseman), and Martha (Morgan Turner) take on in Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level, both of which wisely disregarded the Jumanji book and first movie. Despite the cliffhanger ending of The Next Level, there has not been much clear news on when Jumanji 4 will be released.
While Jumanji 4 was confirmed after the release of The Next Level, the reasons behind the sequel's delay in getting started are not anything that out of the ordinary for big tentpole franchises. The involvement of Dwayne Johnson as Smolder Bravestone (as well as serving as a producer on the Jumanji sequels) in particular helps put the long development period of Jumanji 4 in better context. Here are the reasons behind Jumanji 4's delays and how they can potentially be worked around should the need to do so arise.
Jumanji 4's Production Delays Explained
Jumanji 4's delays can be attributed to the schedules of both director Jake Kasdan and the cast, particularly Jumanji franchise star Dwayne Johnson. After Jumanji: The Next Level, Kasdan's next movie as director is Red One, which is intended to be released during the 2023 holiday season and which Johnson is also attached to. As director of both Red One and the Jumanji sequels, Kasdan remains committed to the popular Jumanji series, but Red One will need to be completed in order for Kasdan to begin on Jumanji 4.
Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson is notoriously one of the busiest people in the film industry, and his work in the DCEU has become his big focus of the past few years. Johnson's pet project Johnson's growing adventure series in Jungle Cruise 2, scheduling for Jumanji 4 is the other big challenge for the sequel.
How Jumanji 4 Could Work Around The Rock's Busy Schedule
While Johnson's aforementioned propensity for handling multiple projects at once is well-known, his Black Adam-related plans could become his primary focus, but there is a way to accommodate that should Johnson not be able to fully return for Jumanji 4. The ending of Jumanji: The Next Level sees the game unwittingly opened by a repairman, causing the animals of Jumanji to be freed into the world. This sets up Jumanji 4 to be a throwback to the story of the original Jumanji, and also creates a situation where the in-game characters could be more compartmentalized in their roles within the narrative
With the four young protagonists of the Jumanji sequels seemingly having to complete the game in the real world serving as Bravestone's role being akin to Last Action Hero's cinema bending narrative could give the sequel some good options in order for Johnson's Bravestone to be present but in a smaller role for Jumanji 4.
