While it was probably difficult for Dwayne Johnson to accept the lead role in 2017’s Jumanji reboot, considering how the very idea of following in the footsteps of the late great Robin Williams, who starred in the original 1995 film, is a daunting undertaking, it may be even tougher for audiences to get on board for a remake of the beloved family classic. However, in a heartfelt Instagram post published yesterday, Johnson, who’s also producing the film through his Seven Bucks Production banner alongside Matt Tolmach, William Teitler, Ted Field and Mike Weber, reassured fans that the new Jumanji will “honor” Williams and his character Alan Parrish.
A portion of the caption attached to a picture of Johnson holding a copy of the 1981 Chris Van Allsburg-written book on which the film is based reads as follows: “An important thing that I want to be honest and bring up is Robin Williams. The love and respect I have for this man is boundless. You have my word, we will honor his name and the character of “Alan Parrish” will stand alone and be forever immortalized in the world of JUMANJI in an earnest and cool way. I have an idea of what to do and I think his family will be proud. I also think Robin is somewhere lookin’ down and laughing, remembering the first time we met backstage and I (for the first time ever) was a star struck bumbling idiot that couldn’t even get my words out. Idiot. He literally calmed me down w/ that smile and laugh. But that’s for another fun story down the road.”
On the film’s ensemble and future casting announcements, Johnson also mentioned, “Here’s another fun part… in the original movie there were three big roles. In our new story there’s now FIVE. Been so damn cool to see all my actor buddies push their projects aside so hopefully they can come play in our world. Should have cool casting announcements this week. Will keep you posted.”
Previously, Johnson’s Central Intelligence screen partner Kevin Hart had been rumoured to portray a character in the film, but his involvement in the remake of The Intouchables made his status unknown.
See the full post below…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFMdpIHIhwN/
Jake Kasdan (Sex Tape) will direct, while Scott Rosenberg (Gone in Sixty Seconds) and Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) will pen the script for the reboot. Jumanji is due out on July 28, 2017.
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Originally published May 10, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
