The next Jumanji installment is officially underway, and Dwayne Johnson is kicking off production with a gesture that speaks to the soul of the franchise: a tribute to Robin Williams.
In a new behind-the-scenes clip, Johnson shared that his character will be wearing a necklace holding the original dice from the 1995 classic, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“This is the dice from the original Jumanji with Robin Williams,” he explained, calling it his way of honoring “Robin and this entire franchise that he started” as they dive into what he described as the final Jumanji chapter.
The heartfelt gesture dropped right as Sony unveiled the first cast photo from the new sequel. The shot shows Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black suited up once again and ready to leap back into the jungle chaos.
The caption — “Look who’s on the loose” — marked the first official glimpse of the returning crew. Hart shared the pic too, writing, “Back in action and loving it…I missed you Jumanji.…This one will be our biggest!”
Filming is now rolling in Los Angeles, a detail Johnson spotlighted while greeting fans on the Universal Studios backlot. In his video, he celebrated the rare chance to shoot close to home. “So good to be shooting in Los Angeles,” he said. “I have not shot a film in Los Angeles in…I don’t know when.”
The upcoming movie brings back much of the ensemble from the last two installments. Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Lamorne Morris, and Danny DeVito are all returning for the next chapter.
Director Jake Kasdan — who helmed Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level — is also back, working from a script co-written with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. The film is set to hit theaters on December 11, 2026.
Johnson also dropped clips from the recent table read, capturing the cast reuniting before cameras started rolling. “Amazing to get the whole gang back together,” he wrote. “Our jaws were hurting from laughing so hard.”
The modern Jumanji reboot kicked off in 2017, reinventing the board game premise as a video-game universe that pulled in a group of teens who reemerged as adult avatars. The film became a worldwide hit, earning more than $950 million, and its 2019 sequel surpassed $800 million globally.
