Jumanji: Open World Trailer Brings The Game Into The Real World

Ready for another jungle safari adventure? "Jumanji: Open World" will mark the fourth entry overall in Sony's film series based on Chris Van Allsburg's beloved children's fantasy picture book "Jumanji" and the third since the studio soft rebooted the property with 2017's "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle." It's also technically the fifth movie in Sony's Extended Van Allsburg Universe (note: not an actual thing) if you include 2005's Kristen Stewart-led sci-fi flick "Zathura: A Space Adventure," a loose spin-off of the original 1995 "Jumanji" film adaptation — itself a very personal project for the late Robin Williams — based on Van Allsburg's standalone "Jumanji" sequel book. (That's right, baby, it's not just superhero movies you gotta do your homework for these days!)

Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black are once again reprising their roles from "Welcome to the Jungle" and its first sequel, 2019's "Jumanji: The Next Level," for this new go-round, with Jake Kasdan returning as co-writer/director alongside writers Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg. With almost seven years (!) having passed since "The Next Level" hit theaters, you might have forgotten that movie ended with a mid-credits scene setting the stage for a follow-up in which the animals and human avatars from the enchanted "Jumanji" game find their way into our everyday reality (instead of real-world folks crossing over into theirs). So, how does "Open World" pay off that tease? Check out the trailer above, and see for yourself.

Cards on the table: I actually liked the last two "Jumanji" movies, especially "Welcome to the Jungle" and its mix of action/comedy hijinks and surprising sweetness (specifically, the subplot involving Jack Black's in-game character being controlled by a teenage girl). "The Next Level" is rougher around the edges, yet even that has an unexpectedly tender story thread in which Danny DeVito and Danny Glover play estranged friends/ex-business partners grappling with their mortality. With "Jumanji: Open World" featuring most of the same cast and crew as those two films (including Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman as the youngsters who keep on getting sucked into the titular game), it stands to reason the movie will serve up an identical blend of broad humor and sincerity, and its trailer suggests as much.

The bigger question might be: Will this movie give Dwayne Johnson a hit at a point when he kinda needs one? After his bid for an Oscar with "The Smashing Machine" didn't pan out last year, Johnson tried but failed to bounce back with the costly box office failure of this month's live-action "Moana" remake. Even his last two starring vehicles before that ("Black Adam" and "Red One") underwhelmed across the board, which was quite a change of pace for an A-list star who had become pretty invincible right before the COVID-19 pandemic. His latest "Jumanji" film will have to compete with "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Dune: Part Three" in late December, but considering his previous two outings with the franchise fared exceptionally well during equally packed winter holiday frames, that might not be a problem.

"Jumanji: Open World" opens in theaters on December 25, 2026.