Before you argue that this movie is going to “ruin your childhood,” let’s be clear: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is not a remake of the 1995 adventure flick in which Robin Williams helps a couple of tweens complete a magical board game that unleashes unwieldy, frightening animals and wild life upon their quiet New Hampshire town. Instead, this appears to be a sequel of sorts, with an entirely new premise and a very modern update. (A nod to Williams’ Alan Parrish will reportedly be included.) Rather than a board game, it’s an ancient video game called Jumanji that four teens stumble upon in their high school basement. After selecting their respective avatars, they are suddenly sucked into the world of Jumanji and become Franklin “Moose” Finbar (Kevin Hart), Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black), Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillian), and, most importantly, Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson)—because who among us hasn’t fantasized at one point or another about being “the Rock”?
The first trailer is chock full of meta-commentary (“Why am I wearing half a shirt and short shorts in the jungle?!” Ruby exclaims), hungry hippos, a Jonas Brother, Kevin Hart Kevin Hart–ing with the obligatory short joke, and Johnson being his usual, charismatic self. If nothing about Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle looks particularly new or interesting, at the very least, the reunion of the stars of Central Intelligence will probably make this a hit anyway when it’s unleashed on Dec. 22.
