Why Jumanji 4 Is Taking So Long Candidly Explained By Karen Gillan

With nearly five years gone since the last movie hit theaters, Karen Gillan opens up about why Jumanji 4 has yet to get off the ground. Loosely based on Chris Van Allsburg’s children’s book of the same name, the action-adventure franchise revolves around a group of teens pulled into the titular magical and deadly jungle world via a board game and video game in the later sequels, learning about themselves along the way. Recently led by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Gillan, a fourth Jumanji movie has stagnated in development since before the 2019 threequel’s release.

During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter for the Russell Crowe-led thriller Sleeping Dogs, Gillan was asked about an update on the long-awaited Jumanji 4. The star humorously asked the interviewer to point her in the direction of whomever’s to blame for the sequel’s lengthy development, confirming that she and the cast are still very keen on making the movie, but indicated that scheduling is the biggest hurdle they’re facing as of now. Check out what Gillan shared below:

If you find out [who’s to blame for it taking so long], can you let me know? Because I don’t know. I’m sure it’s tricky to wrangle everyone’s schedules, but I haven’t heard anything about it other than the fact that we will be doing it at some point. So we’re all so enthusiastic about it. We all love working on those films, and it’s just a matter of when.

Jumanji 4’s Long Wait Doesn’t Bode Well For The Franchise’s Future

While the franchise seemed to be one of the hottest properties yet again after the successful Welcome to the Jungle relaunch, the long wait for Jumanji 4‘s arrival is concerning for the franchise’s potential future beyond it. Gillan’s note of scheduling conflicts is certainly understandable when looking at the movie’s four lead actors, all of whom are some of the busiest in Hollywood. In the years between the installments, Johnson in particular has attached himself to a variety of franchises, including Netflix’s Red Notice and Disney’s Jungle Cruise, among others.

Additionally, though Jumanji: The Next Level addressed the jump in time by sending its high school characters to college, the age and interest of the younger cast of actors to return for the fourth movie is something the producers will soon have to consider. While Alex Wolff and Madison Iseman have still dipped their toes in the occasional mainstream project, like Oppenheimer or American Horror Stories, they and Ser’Darius Blain have been turning towards more indie fare, including Wolff’s supporting work in the acclaimed Nicolas Cage-led thriller Pig, potentially turning them off from big-budget filmmaking.

Hart’s previous comments about Jumanji 4‘s development also indicate this long wait could result in the end of the franchise, with the star indicating that he and Johnson had been discussing what movie would be their big final pairing after starring in five movies together. While Gillan indicates the cast all “love” making the Jumanji movies, the fact that it has been seven years since the franchise relaunched and only two movies has released may be a sign that the next movie would work best as a finale for the whole thing.

Source: THR