Jumanji: The Next Level



Jumanji: The Next Level is a 2019 American fantasy adventure comedy film, starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, and Awkwafina, while it was directed by Jake Kasdan, and co-written by Kasdan, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. It is the fourth installment in the Jumanji franchise, and a direct sequel to the 2017 film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The film's plot takes place three years after Welcome to the Jungle, in which the same group of teenagers, along with an old friend and two unwitting additions, become trapped in Jumanji, where they find themselves facing new problems and challenges with both old and new avatars, while having to save the land from a new villain in order to escape.

Principal photography took place during 2019, between January 21 to May 11 in locations including Atlanta, New Mexico, and Hawaii, with much of the cast consisting of those from the previous film reprising their original roles for the sequel. Jumanji: The Next Level was theatrically released in the United States on December 13, 2019 by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. It has grossed $610 million worldwide.

Plot
In 2019, three years after their adventure in Jumanji, Spencer Gilpin, Anthony "Fridge" Johnson, Martha Kaply, and Bethany Walker lead different lives, but plan a reunion brunch in Brantford that year. Spencer, apprehensive of the meeting due to depression, contemplates returning to Jumanji where he had purpose, and spends his first night looking over the broken video-game system he held onto. The following day, his friends visit his home, meeting with Spencer's grandfather Eddie, who is recovering from hip surgery, and Eddie's former friend Milo Walker, who is visiting for an unknown reason. Learning that they have no idea where Spencer is, the group search the house, and find the Jumanji game repaired in the basement. Realising Spencer returned to the game, his friends decide to follow him.

The game malfunctions when starting up, sucking in only Fridge and Martha, along with Eddie and Milo, forcing Bethany to contact fellow Jumanji player Alex Vreeke for help. Inside the game, Martha finds herself as her avatar Ruby Roundhouse, yet Fridge becomes Bethany's avatar Professor Sheldon Oberon, while Eddie and Milo become avatars Dr. Smolder Bravestone and Franklin Finbar respectively. After instructing Eddie and Milo on the game's rules, the group encounter non-player character Nigel Billingsley, the game's guide, who reveals that since its last use, Jumanji is suffering from a massive drought. To leave the game, Nigel reveals that the group must recover the "Falcon's Heart" - a magical necklace stolen by warlord Jurgen the Brutal - which can end the drought if brought before sunlight and uttering "Jumanji".

Transported to a desert called the Dunes to track down Jurgen, the group encounter Spencer operating as skilled thief Ming Fleetfoot, a new avatar, who agrees to help them after blaming himself for their predicament. While attempting to escape the Dunes, the group face new challenges and problems, along with collecting an in-game item called a Jumanji Berry, and discovering a pool of glowing green water that allows them to switch avatars. In the process, Eddie bickers with Milo, revealing their friendship ended when a diner they owned was sold behind Eddie's back, forcing him into retirement. After the group convince the pair to work together in escaping a troop of mandrills, they soon become reunited with Alex, as his avatar Jefferson McDonough, and Bethany, operating a new avatar called Cyclone - a black horse that can only be understood by Finbar.

Working together, the party leave the Dunes, and find a river with the same glowing green water, allowing Spencer, Bethany, and Fridge to become their original avatars, while Eddie and Milo end up as Ming and Cyclone respectively. Shortly after changing characters, Jurgen captures the group with his mercenaries and brings them to his fortress. Escaping their confinement, Spencer pursues after Jurgen to his airship, while the others distract his men. Finding himself unable to best Jurgen, Spencer discovers he is weak to the Jumanji Berry, incapacitating him long enough to send him plummeting to his death. Discovering Cyclone has retractable wings, Eddie and Milo work together to rescue Spencer and bring the recovered Falcon's Heart to the sun, calling out "Jumanji", ending the drought.

Returning the necklace to Nigel for safekeeping, the group are surprised when Milo elects to stay behind and protect the land. Learning he was dying in the real world and thus sought to make up for his actions, Eddie reconciles with him before parting ways. Upon returning to the real world, Spencer decides to teach his grandfather about video games, while Eddie uses what he learned in the game to convince the owner of his old diner to hire him on as a manager, with his grandson and his friends turning up to enjoy a meal together. In a mid-credits scene, the heating mechanic Spencer's mother hired finally shows up, only to be drawn to the game, while Spencer and the others are surprised to witness a flock of ostriches rush past the diner.

Cast

 * Dwayne Johnson as Dr. Xander "Smolder" Bravestone.
 * Johnson also portrays Bravestone's father in a flashback scene in the film.
 * Jack Black as Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon.
 * Kevin Hart as Franklin "Mouse" Finbar.
 * Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse.
 * Nick Jonas as Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough.
 * Awkwafina as Ming Fleetfoot - A new Jumanji avatar, whose character's background is a thief with skills in burglary, pick-pocketing and lock picking, and who has a weakness to pollen.
 * Rory McCann as Jurgen the Brutal - A new antagonist of Jumanji, who is an iron-fisted and arrogant warlord, responsible for murdering Bravestone's parents years ago.
 * Danny DeVito as Edward "Eddie" Gilpin - Spencer's grandfather. He is a retired diner owner following the sale of a diner he owned in Brantford, with little understanding of video games.
 * Danny Glover as Milo Walker - Eddie's estranged friend and a co-owner in the diner he owned with him, before its sale ended their friendship.
 * Alex Wolff as Spencer Gilpin.
 * Ser'Darius Blain as Anthony "Fridge" Johnson - The character is referenced by others in the film primarily by his nickname.
 * Morgan Turner as Martha Kaply.
 * Madison Iseman as Bethany Walker.
 * Colin Hanks as Alex Vreeke.
 * Rhys Darby as Nigel Billingsley.

In addition, the film also cast a number of actors for supporting roles, which included Dania Ramirez as Jumanji NPC Flame, Massi Furlan as Jumanji NPC Switchblade, Bebe Neuwirth as restauranter Nora Shepherd (reprising her role from the 1995 film), Zachary Tzegaegbe as a Young Smolder Bravestone, Jennifer Patino as Bravestone's mother, John Ross Bowie as a minion of Jurgen, and Lamorne Morris as a heater repairman. Lucy DeVito was cast for the film for an undisclosed role, while Marin Hinkle returned alongside returning cast members from Welcome to the Jungle to reprise her role as Mrs. Gilpin. Ashley Scott was originally intended to also appear as herself, but her scenes were later dropped from the final edit.

Development
After the release of the previous film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Nick Jonas had discussed in interviews what a possible Jumanji sequel would be about, including the possibility of the film exploring the origins of the titular game. Karen Gillan had also said that the alternate ending for Welcome to the Jungle would have left the door open for another movie. In February 2018, it was announced that Kasdan would direct the sequel, with Rosenberg and Pinkner again writing the script and Johnson, Hart, Black, and Gillan reprising their roles.

On February 22, 2019, Black confirmed the new film as being a fourth Jumanji film because of Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), serving as the second film and sharing continuity with the other films of the series, with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle serving as the third film. In July 2019, the film's title was revealed as Jumanji: The Next Level.

Casting
In January 2019, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, and Danny Glover joined the film. In February 2019, Alex Wolff, Ser'Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, and Nick Jonas were announced to reprise their roles. In March 2019, Dania Ramirez joined the cast of the film. That same month, it was announced Rhys Darby would reprise his role in the film. In May 2019, it was announced Colin Hanks would reprise his role.

Filming
Filming began on January 21, 2019, and took place in Atlanta, New Mexico, Calgary, Fortress Mountain Resort, Imperial Dunes, and Hawaii before wrapping on May 11. Johnson made a reported $23.5 million for his role.

Music
Henry Jackman scored the film after having worked on Welcome to the Jungle.

Release
In the United States and Canada, the film was released in on December 13, 2019. The film was released on December 5, 2019 in China, Singapore, Malaysia and several other Asian countries (and also in Czechia). In the Nordic countries and the Netherlands the film premiered in cinemas on December 6, 2019. The film's Australian release date was December 26, 2019.

The first trailer was released on July 1, 2019. A second and final trailer was released on October 31, 2019.

Box office
, Jumanji: The Next Level has grossed $236.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $374 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $610.2 million, against a production budget of about $125 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Black Christmas and Richard Jewell, and was projected to gross $45–55 million from 4,227 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $19.7 million on its first day, including $8 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $59.3 million, topping the box office. It made $26.5 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The following weekend the film made $35.3 million (a total of $59.2 million over the five-day Christmas frame), then $26.5 million the next, remaining in second both times.

Critical response
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 70% based on 215 reviews with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Like many classic games, Jumanji: The Next Level retains core components of what came before while adding enough fresh bits to keep things playable." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars, with 58% saying they would definitely recommend it.