‘Jumanji’ reboot set for 2016, Zack Helm will write the script
Robin Williams starred in the adaptation of the Chris Van Allsburg‘s 1981 children’s book Jumanji twenty years ago. Now a reboot of the franchise is moving forward with a release date set for next year.
Sony announced the release dates for several upcoming films and the new Jumanji will land next Christmas day with Zack Helm, the writer of Stranger than Fiction and writer/director of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, brought on to write the script.
Director Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger, The Rocketeer) helmed the first film with Williams playing the adult version of a young boy who was sucked into the board game years earlier, only to emerge later when two kids (Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce) in then-present day 1995. They played the game and freed him from the jungle in which he was trapped.
The film also starred Bonnie Hunt, David Alan Grier, Jonathan Hyde (in two roles) and Bebe Neuwirth. The 1995 version earned over $262 million globally and proved to be a massive success.
Jumanji will arrive in theaters on December 25, 2016