Jumanji 3: Dwayne Johnson Confirms December 2019 Release Date

[Black Panther]

Dwayne Johnson has confirmed a December 13, 2019 release date for Jumanji 3. Last year's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (a soft reboot set in the same universe as the 1995 Jumanji movie) was an unexpected smash success that grossed $961 million at the global box office. Critics were similarly pleased by the film, which changes the eponymous board game into a video game. As such, it was a no-brainer when Sony announced that it would be developing a third installment in the family-friendly action/adventure series.

Johnson and his Welcome to the Jungle costars (Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black) are already lined up to return in Jumanji 3, along with director Jake Kasdan, and cowriters Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. Back at CinemaCon in April, Sony head Tom Rothman confirmed that the film is being targeted for a Christmas 2019 release, much like Welcome to the Jungle hit theaters during last year's winter holiday season. Now, the sequel has a launch date firmly set in stone.

The Rock confirmed the December 13, 2019 date for Jumanji 3 by posting the following video announcement to his Instagram account. Johnson didn't reveal much about the film beyond that, though he mentioned it will include "new characters" that weren't featured in Welcome to the Jungle, in addition to the returning in-game heroes: Smolder Bravestone (Johnson), Ruby Roundhouse (Gillan), Sheldon Oberon (Black), and Franklin Finbar (Hart).



With Jumanji 3 now officially on the table, December 2019 is very crowded, as far as film releases go. The third Jumanji will hit theaters a week before Star Wars: Episode IX and the Wicked movie musical arrive on the scene, along with Kenneth Branagh's Death on the Nile adaptation. Sony is still holding onto that December 18 release date for its live-action Masters of the Universe reboot, but it seems reasonable to assume the studio will ultimately move the fantasy adventure elsewhere (rather than pit it against the Jumanji sequel).

Welcome to the Jungle, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Hugh Jackman's musical The Greatest Showman all became big hits at the box office last December, despite being released in theaters over the same week. As such, it's possible Jumanji 3, Episode IX, Wicked, and maybe even Death on the Nile will similarly thrive when next year's winter holidays roll around. It's less likely that the Jumaji franchise will emerge victorious over Star Wars in their second show-down (even with a head-start this time), but Jumanji 3 may yet give J.J. Abrams' trilogy conclusion a run for its money, based on what happened last time.