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Jumanji remake wants Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, obviously - SciFiNow

Jumanji remake wants Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, obviously

Sony sensibly wants Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart for Jumanji

The Jumanji remake/reboot/reimagining is happening whether you like it or not, and Sony is trying to secure the one thing that will make us happy about something we love from our childhoods getting the remake treatment: Dwayne Johnson.

Variety reports that the studio is trying to get Johnson and his Central Intelligence co-star Kevin Hart to star in the new take on Chris Van Allsburg’s 1981 novel and 1995 film, in which a man is released from a magical board game after being imprisoned in it for 26 years, and is promptly followed by a lot of trouble.

This obviously makes a lot of sense. Worried about the reaction to your remaking a beloved Robin Williams movie? Get two of the most popular film stars on the planet.

However, there is a pretty sizeable roadblock in the fact that they are also two of the busiest film stars on the planet. Johnson is currently filming Baywatch, then he’s got Fast 8 shooting this summer, he’s got another season of Ballers to make after that, he’s got Rampage (which is apparently being moved to next year, so there’s some potential breathing room there).

Meanwhile, Hart is starring with Bryan Cranston in a remake of the excellent French film Intouchables, and the site says scheduling around that could be difficult.

Naturally, Sony is doing its very best to get the two on board, and “insiders say things are moving toward a deal.”

Given that we’re almost kind of OK with a Big Trouble In Little China remake as long as Dwayne Johnson’s in it, this gets a cautious nod of approval from us.

The film is being directed by Jake Kasdan (Bad Teacher, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), and is written by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. Original writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers also worked on a draft. The original film starred Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Hyde, David Alan Grier and Patricia Clarkson.

Jumanji is set for release on 28 July 2017. Keep up with the latest genre news with the new issue of SciFiNow.