In addition to co-starring in Central Intelligence together, Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart recently co-hosted the MTV Movie Awards, reaffirming that there’s some comedic chemistry between them. Now the two are looking to re-team sooner than later as both are in talks with Sony to see if they can co-headline the Jumanji remake.
Now, neither Johnson nor Hart are any replacement for Robin Williams, but the former is probably the hardest working actor in Hollywood at the moment. He went from San Andreas to Furious 7 to Central Intelligence to the Baywatch remake to more Journey sequels and, what’s that? The announcement of a San Andreas sequel, a visit to WWF Raw, and voice acting for Disney’s Moana? And that’s not even including all he has going on with the impending Fast & Furious 8, the Rampage movie, and DC’s Shazam, the latter of which is still happening, based on the t-shirt he wore at the MTV Movie Awards.
According to Variety, Johnson, as is Hart, is still working out his schedule to see if he can make Jumanji work, but so far things are looking good. Hart, meanwhile, is expected to co-star with Bryan Cranston in a U.S. remake of The Intouchables, which may be a problem, but Sony seems committed to capitalize on the duo’s on-screen chemistry.
Jake Kasdan is directing the remake from a script written by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. Williams famously starred in the original film about two children who stumble upon a game that brings its various jungle-themed challenges to life. The studio released the Jack Black-led Goosebumps, which had a similar feel to Jumanji in that it brought to life all of R.L. Stine’s classic monsters. The character then had to go and find way to suck them back into the book world. Sound familiar?
Jumanji is scheduled for release on July 28, 2017, so a casting decision will have to be made soon before both actors become too busy.
