After six years of waiting, the next level of Jumanji has finally begun. Producer Hiram Garcia confirmed via Instagram that Jumanji 4 — the long-awaited follow-up to 2019’s Jumanji: The Next Level — has officially started filming. In his post, Garcia shared a photo of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black reunited for a table read, teasing that the group is “already having a blast” bringing the next adventure to life.
Garcia’s announcement also confirmed that the movie — set for a December 11, 2026 release — will serve as the final chapter in the reboot trilogy. As Kevin Hart put it earlier this year, “This might be our last one… at least for a while.”
Along with the returning core cast of Johnson, Hart, Gillan, and Black, Jumanji 4 will also see the comeback of Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Madison Iseman, and Ser’Darius Blaine, reprising their real-world roles as the teens who first got sucked into the video game. New faces joining the ensemble include Awkwafina, Brittany O’Grady, and Burn Gorman, the latter reportedly playing the film’s baddie.
While filming officially began in November, many were surprised the production started on schedule, given Johnson’s crowded calendar. The actor recently wrapped Benny Safdie‘s The Smashing Machine and was expected to roll with Safdie straight into Lizard Music. The Jumanji 4 table read photo shows a noticeably leaner Johnson, which is a reflection of his “serious thespian” era.
How Good are the Jumanji Films?
The Jumanji reboot series has been one of Sony’s biggest success stories of the past decade. Both Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and The Next Level (2019) earned critical praise and massive box office returns, with combined grosses topping $1.7 billion worldwide.
Collider’s review of Welcome to the Jungle praised the way the film embraced the silliness of the idea, and the way the actors took on their performances:
Johnson and Hart are basically just doing another variation on their dynamic from Central Intelligence where Johnson is the muscular nerd and Hart is diminutive yet confident, but it still works. Meanwhile, Black makes a meal of playing a teenage girl and owns every scene that he’s in while still giving Bethany a real arc. Meanwhile, Gillan is surprisingly good (I never watched Doctor Who so I’m not as familiar with her body of work) and really nails the comic elements of her character.
It’s a nice surprise that a Jumanji sequel—something that, if we’re being honest, we didn’t really need or ask for—ended up as a nice, funny, worthwhile family film that has great performances. I don’t know if we’ll need another Jumanji movie after this one, but it’s certainly an amusing ride while you’re on it.
Stay tuned for more on Jumanji 4.
