Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just confirmed that Jumanji 3 has officially started filming in Los Angeles. According to the wrestler-turned-actor, this will be the final chapter in the blockbuster adventure saga that began nearly 30 years ago with Robin Williams’ 1995 original.
Johnson took to Instagram to break the news, posting photos from the first table read with Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black — the full gang back together again. “Massive and heartfelt adventure,” Johnson called it, promising that this movie will be “the perfect ending for the beloved franchise.” The biggest surprise is that it’s being filmed in Los Angeles. That’s a first for the modern Jumanji movies, which previously transformed Hawaii and Atlanta into their wild game worlds.
Director Jake Kasdan is back in the chair, teaming once again with writers Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. The trio is responsible for making the last two films billion-dollar hits. And yes, that’s billion with a “B.” Between Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), the franchise earned nearly $2 billion worldwide. It’s no wonder Sony Pictures is giving the series one final spin, with Jumanji 3 set to hit theaters on December 11, 2026.
Fans of the original will be happy to hear that this one comes full circle. Johnson revealed that a prop from the 1995 film, the iconic dice from the original board game, will appear as part of his character’s costume. It’s a quiet nod to Robin Williams’ legacy, whose portrayal of Alan Parrish set the stage for everything that came after.
To recap, the 1995 Jumanji followed two kids (Bradley Pierce and a young Kirsten Dunst) who stumble upon an old board game, accidentally freeing Alan Parrish, a man trapped inside the game for decades. It was Joe Johnston’s imaginative mix of adventure and heart that made it a classic. Then, twenty-two years later, Welcome to the Jungle reinvented the story for a new generation — swapping dice for controllers and turning the game into a virtual adventure starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Alex Wolff, and Nick Jonas. The chemistry clicked, the jokes landed, and the film was a global success. Naturally, a sequel followed in 2019 with new faces like Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, and Awkwafina joining.
So why the long wait for another one? Well, Hollywood’s busiest people have been, well, busy. Johnson’s been juggling movie roles, while Gillan’s been holding it down in the Marvel universe. Even producer Hiram Garcia told Collider years ago, “It’s going to happen. We have a great vision for the new Jumanji movie.” It just took a while for everyone’s schedules to catch up.
And while Johnson insists this will be the last Jumanji movie, the series has never been afraid to tease its next move. Remember that mid-credits scene from The Next Level? Spencer’s mom and a heating mechanic accidentally get sucked into the game, unleashing Jumanji’s animals into the real world. It was a clever callback to the original 1995 ending and hinted that maybe the avatars could finally meet their real-world counterparts.
The Rock needs another big hit. Jumanji 3 could just be it.
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