Nick Jonas to Return for ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ Sequel

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Nick Jonas is returning to Sony’s sequel to “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” reprising his role as Jefferson “Seaplane” McDonough.

The plot of the film is being kept under wraps. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan are also set to return and Awkwafina is in final negotiations for a significant role. Danny DeVito and Danny Glover have also joined the cast, and the four teens from the first film (Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, Alex Wolff) are also returning.

Jake Kasdan returns to direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. Matt Tolmach will again produce with Seven Bucks’ Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia, along with Kasdan. The untitled movie will open on Dec. 13, a week before Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Episode IX” launches.

“” earned $404 million domestically and $557 million internationally. After coming in second during its opening weekend to “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Jumanji” accomplished the unusual feat of climbing to No. 1 in its fifth weekend, and remained at the top for the following three frames.

The film was a sequel to the 1995 hit “Jumanji,” starring Robin Williams. Set in the present day, the reboot follows four high school students placed in detention together. The quartet is assigned to the school’s basement and then transported into the Jumanji board game after they activate the discarded game.

Jonas most recently completed production on Roland Emmerich’s “Midway” and Lionsgate’s thriller “Chaos Walking” with Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland. He is repped by WME and Philymack Management.