For many viewers who grew up watching family films in the 1990s, and for whom Robin Williams was a founding inhabitant of their early years as an avid consumer of feature films, the 1995 film Jumanji from director Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger) perhaps remains a constant companion and close friend. Starring Williams at the very height of his stardom and capacity for thrilling and entertaining viewers of all ages, Johnston’s adaptation of the popular children’s book by author Van Allsburg has not dissipated in terms of the impact that it has had on a cultulral level, as it remains a nostalgic touchstone for many members of the Millennial generation.

On that note, the recent development that director Joe Kasdan (Bad Teacher) has been recruited by distributor Columbia Pictures to produce a remake of the Jumanji film franchise, with Central Intelligence co-stars Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart being sought as the new movie’s lead actors, has turned quite a few heads. On the heels of said development, the latest word has it that one of the two A-list Hollywood performers has been officially set to star in the Jumanji reboot.

As posted by Johnson on his official Instagram account, “The Rock” has been confirmed to star in the new big screen version of Jumanji. The impending lead of the new Kasdan feature film production couldn’t be more thrilled by the prospect of bringing the classic fantasy property back to the big screen, citing his enthusiasm for the new production alongside his two other forthcoming feature franchise reboots of Baywatch and Rampage. Johnson also confirmed that his Seven Bucks Production Team has now taken over screenwriting duties on the film, ahead of production getting underway later this year (as part of Johnson’s crammed-full work slate). 

You can check out the original Instagram post from “The Rock”, below:

It’s OFFICIAL: Love this script! Big movie news that me and my canine gal Shang are excited to share;) To produce, create and deliver original properties to fans like HBO’s #ballers to this summer’s #CentralIntelligence is one of the best parts of my job. But to take great properties that are beloved worldwide like #BAYWATCH and #RAMPAGE and have the opportunity reimagine their stories in dope new ways to a whole new generation is truly an honor. It’s official. We’ll produce and deliver to a whole new generation a title that I love and is one of my all time favs: There’s games you play for fun… then there’s games that change your life. JUMANJI Working on edging up an already very good script with my @sevenbucksprod team. Up next is meeting with our producer Matt Tolmach and director Jake Kasdan. Shooting starts this fall. Promise to deliver something cool and special.. and not screw the whole damn thing up;). As always I’ll keep you posted. Casting this should be fun! #JUMANJI #JungleLife #JustPressStart #SONYPictures A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Apr 22, 2016 at 8:36am PDT

-

Johnson is undoubtedly optimistic regarding the fate of Jumanji, and you can’t help but want to root for him given his undeniable charisma and unfaltering screen presence. Seeing as how the Fast & Furious all-star is also set to star in a sequel to his recent summer disaster/thriller in the form of San Andreas 2, everything appears to be coming up in favor of the former WWE wrestler.

Hart has yet to make his involvement on the project official (or not), but if the chemistry already apparent between the two co-stars from Central Intelligence stands up as anything, then it serves to show that a Jumanji remake with both actors on board could make for a good time at the movies. Williams’ original take on the Jumanji property will no doubt remain a beloved version for many for years to come, but here’s to hoping that Johnson at the very least can uplift this particular reboot all the same.

Jumanji is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on July 28th, 2017.

Source: Dwayne Johnson