The classic movie that instilled fear about playing board games is coming back, and Dwayne Johnson says he is all about honoring the late actor that played the leading role.
While it was probably difficult for Dwayne Johnson to accept the lead role in 2017’s Jumanji reboot, considering how the very idea of following in the footsteps of the late great Robin Williams, who starred in the original 1995 film, is a daunting undertaking, it may be even tougher for audiences to get on board for a remake of the beloved family classic. However, in a heartfelt Instagram post published yesterday, Johnson, who’s also producing the film through his Seven Bucks Production banner alongside Matt Tolmach, William Teitler, Ted Field and Mike Weber, reassured fans that the new Jumanji will “honor” Williams and his character Alan Parrish.
A portion of the caption attached to a picture of Johnson holding a copy of the 1981 Chris Van Allsburg-written book on which the film is based reads as follows: “An important thing that I want to be honest and bring up is Robin Williams. The love and respect I have for this man is boundless. You have my word, we will honor his name and the character of “Alan Parrish” will stand alone and be forever immortalized in the world of JUMANJI in an earnest and cool way. I have an idea of what to do and I think his family will be proud. I also think Robin is somewhere lookin’ down and laughing, remembering the first time we met backstage and I (for the first time ever) was a star struck bumbling idiot that couldn’t even get my words out. Idiot. He literally calmed me down w/ that smile and laugh. But that’s for another fun story down the road.”
Jake Kasdan (Sex Tape) will direct, while Scott Rosenberg (Gone in Sixty Seconds) and Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) is said to be writing script for the reboot. Jumanji is set to premiere July 28, 2017.
Sources: IMDB, FlickeringMyth.Com, Yahoo! Movies