Dwayne Johnson confirms ‘Jumanji’ reboot

CEBU, Philippines - Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took to Instagram yesterday to share that he’s officially onboard to help bring the “Jumanji” remake to the big screen.

The actor wrote, “It’s official: Love this script! Big movie news that me and my canine gal Shang are excited to share: to produce, create and deliver original properties to fans like HBO’s #ballers to this summer’s #CentralIntelligence is one of the best parts of my job. But to take great properties that are beloved worldwide like #BAYWATCH and #RAMPAGE and have the opportunity to reimagine their stories in dope new ways to a whole new generation is truly an honor.”

He continued, “It’s official. We’ll produce and deliver to a whole new generation a title that I love and is one of my all-time favorites: There’s games you play for fun, then there’s games that change your life. Working on edging up an already very good script for ‘Jumanji’ with my @sevenbucksprod team. Up next is meeting with our producer Matt Tolmach and director Jake Kasdan. Shooting starts this fall. Promise to deliver something cool and special and not screw the whole damn thing up. Casting this should be fun!”

News of a reboot first circulated back in August 2015 when Sony Pictures released titles and release dates for its forthcoming movie, stating that the Robin Williams-starring classic is set to hit the big screen once again come Christmas 2016. However, there is now a July 28, 2017 slated release date.

The original movie, based on Chris Van Allsburg’s book of the same name, was released 20 years ago. Along with the late Williams, the original cast included Bonnie Hunt and a young Kirsten Dunst. It also featured some serious computer-animated animal stampedes, which will probably receive a massive update in the new version. (FREEMAN)