Dwayne Johnson announces release date for 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' sequel
Gear up for some massive Jumanji action as Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock has just announced the release date for the sequel. Taking to his Instagram account, the star shared the news that the 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' sequel will be arriving in the theaters on December 13, 2019.
The news comes exactly two months after Sony chief Tom Rothman said the sequel will hit theatres right around Christmas next year. Back in April, Rothman shared with theater owners at CinemaCon that the upcoming sequel of the fantasy franchise would surely be ready for a Christmas time release in the coming year. But this isn't the only Christmas release gracing fans and followers as the follow-up to 'Welcome to the Jungle' is also set to open opposite 'Wicked' and 'Death on the Nile'.
And exactly a week later, 'Star Wars: Episode IX' is set to take fans on a joyride on December 20.
Johnson is one of the stars in the cast of the reprised version of the original Robin Williams starrer film 'Jumanji.' The first edition of the franchise was titled 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' and it went on to be one of the most successful films in Sony's history. It grossed over $956 million at the worldwide box office after its year-end release back in 2017.
Taking to his Instagram, The Rock shared a short clip announcing the sequel. He captioned it: "Officially planting our JUMANJI flag. On DECEMBER 13th, 2019 - the game is not over. I hold JUMANJI very close to my heart and I’m beyond grateful you made our movie into the global juggernaut ($1BILLION+) it became. Can’t wait for you to see what our new adventure & new characters have in store as Christmas comes early. And once again, I get to slap @kevinhart4real’s lip’s into next week. The world is happy. #FearTheDrums #TheGameIsNotOver #JUMANJI DECEMBER 13th, 2019."
But that isn't the only expected hit that Johnson has to deliver as his upcoming film - Skyscraper - is all set to release this coming July 13. The summer action thriller even scored a July 20 release in China, despite what seems like an annual blackout on Hollywood fare.
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who has also teamed up with Johnson for the 2016 film Central Intellligence, 'Skyscraper' is written by Thurber and produced by Beau Flynn, Johnson, Thurber and Hiram Garcia.
The movie shows Jonson as a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and US war veteran who now handles the task of assessing security for skyscrapers. His character gets framed by the bad guys while on an assignment at Hong Kong’s The Pearl and the villains target it. The film follows the story of him being on the run while trying to save his family who are still trapped inside.
The film also stars Neve Campbell and Pablo Schreiber.