New 'Jumanji' Movie Details: CinemaCon Footage Shows Students Trapped in Video Game
It seems like the 1995 classic adventure film "Jumanji" is getting a modern follow-up, with the characters getting trapped by a video game (the original film used a board game).
This rather revealing tidbit was shown by actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson during their panel at Sony CinemaCon last Monday, March 27.
Johnson showed off footage from the upcoming film, which features four high school students who were sent to clean up the school's basement as part of their detention.
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The students then find an old video game console in the basement featuring "Jumanji." As they pick a character, they later realize that they are actually the ones being personified in the game.
Later on, the students get sucked into the game and are transported to its jungle setting which is full of wild animals, puzzles and traps. To their surprise, they also carried over the characters they chose - and these are going to be played by Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan.
A nerdy student was pleased when he found himself with Johnson's muscle-built body, while the "it" girl in the group was disappointed as she was transported to the jungle as Black's character.
In order to return to their normal lives, the group needs to beat the game. However, they also have to see things from a different perspective first.
"The whole idea behind this movie is that you literally inhabit a game," says movie producer Matt Tolmach in an interview with Deadline, adding that if a person is actually part of the game, the rules become different "and the stakes of that game become very real."
The upcoming movie also revealed its official title, which will be "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," and it is going to be directed by Jake Kasdan with a release date set on Dec. 22.
