Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
- Jake Kasdan originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- The original script for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was written over a decade before production finally began in 2017.
- Before Dwayne Johnson was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a 2017 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan, a sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams film that reimagines the magical board game as a video game. When four mismatched high school students discover an old video game console in their school's basement, they are transported into the game's jungle world and inhabit the bodies of their chosen avatars: a diminutive, allergic teenager becomes the muscular adventurer Dr. Smolder Bravestone played by Dwayne Johnson, a tall jock becomes the tiny zoologist Franklin "Mouse" Finbar played by Kevin Hart, a shy bookworm becomes the martial arts expert Ruby Roundhouse played by Karen Gillan, and a self-absorbed popular girl becomes the overweight middle-aged cartographer Professor Shelly Oberon played by Jack Black.
The comedy derived primarily from the contrast between the teenagers' real personalities and their avatar bodies, with Jack Black's portrayal of a teenage girl trapped in his body earning particular praise as a comedic highlight. Dwayne Johnson demonstrated unexpected comedic range by playing a physically imposing character inhabited by a timid teenager who flinches at everything. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle earned $962 million worldwide on a $90 million budget, a staggering commercial performance that exceeded all industry expectations and made it one of the most profitable films of 2017.
