'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' Sequel in Development at Sony, Taps Writers Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner
Sony Pictures is working on a sequel to "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle."
According to Deadline, the entertainment company is already in talks with "Welcome to the Jungle" writers Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner to pen the sequel. Apart from Rosenberg and Pinkner, Jake Kasdan is also expected to return to the director's chair.
The news does not come as much of a surprise since the 2017 film became a huge hit when it was released in December. "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" managed to outperform "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," boasting $857 million in worldwide ticket sales against a budget of $100 million.
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But, that number does not stop there. The film could ultimately take in a whopping $900 million, reports The Los Angeles Times. Even with its current numbers, the "Jumanji" sequel has become Sony's most successful film, not including any "Spider-Man" films.
"Welcome to the Jungle" is on track to become one of 2017's 10 highest grossing pictures, according to BoxOfficeGuru.com founder and film business analyst Gitesh Pandya. "It's quite an amazing run at the box office, and it's been a prolonged run too. This is a good-old-fashioned word-of-mouth film," Pandya said.
Critically, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is no failure either. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 76 approval rating among critics, with the audience score sitting neatly at 90 percent.
The upcoming sequel is expected to reunite Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan as the four main characters. Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia of Seven Bucks Production will be onboard as producers, alongside returning producer Matt Tolmach. The "Jumanji" reboot also starred Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale, Alex Wolff, and Missi Pyle.
"Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" serves as a sequel to 1995's "Jumanji," which starred Robin Williams as Alan Parrish. The 2017 film had direct callbacks and references to the first movie.
