Avatar and New Mutants Just Pushed Back Their Release Date... Again

Avatar and New Mutants Just Pushed Back Their Release Date... Again

If you thought that things were a little too comfortable in terms of the Avatar sequels, or even the status of The New Mutants’ release dates, you were right. As it turns out both of these oft delayed properties have been pushed back yet again, as part of a slew of release dates being shifted in a post Fox/Disney merger climate.

In an announcement made by The Walt Disney Studios, the Avatar series has now been slated to open every other year, on the weekend before Christmas, starting in 2021. Which means that Avatar 2 looks to be opening on December 17, 2021; with 2023, 2025, and 2027 being the release years for each of the proposed sequels following after. Though if you were wondering about Avatar 4 and 5 ever being formally green-lit, both films were announced as getting the go-ahead as of today.

Meanwhile, The New Mutants has been shifted to April 3, 2020; which is almost two years after the film’s originally slated opening for April 13, 2018. This is a confirmation that, at least for now, the film will be released theatrically, and also means that director Josh Boone can finally undertake the reshoots that were supposed to have already been done on the film.

It’s rather interesting that both the Avatar franchise and The New Mutants would be pushed back again, after both projects have become notable for their delays. But looking into the prospects of both properties, it’s not hard to see why the Fox/Disney merger would result in their delays.

With the release schedule of two studios to content with, the newly cemented studio family was always going to have to play musical chairs with their slate of finished or in-production films. But in the case of The New Mutants, the opportunity to start a new franchise of mutant powered adventure is something that Fox/Disney is going to want to put its best foot forward out on.

As Dark Phoenix is supposedly closing out the X-Men saga for the foreseeable future, The New Mutants could not only keep the mutant fires lit, it could be the next big movie hit in the Marvel Comics’ stable. However, the Avatar franchise has a little more to worry about with such a delay taking place.

Avatar 2 was originally meant to be released in December of 2014, but everything from three new movies being added to the docket to he revitalization of the Star Wars franchise caused it get pushed further down the line. Though with release dates now intended for the fully green-lit compliment of films, and the odd bit of new casting news coming up in the public eye, it feels like this delay could be the one that allows the series to come back to life after almost a decade of dormancy.

For reference, here’s the full rundown of when the Avatar sequels will be released, under the new strategy that alternates their Christmas release slot with the continuation of the Star Wars universe:

Avatar 2 – 12/17/21

Avatar 3 – 12/22/23

Avatar 4 – 12/19/25

Avatar 5 – 12/17/27

The Fox/Disney family is about to get a lot more interesting, especially if The New Mutants and the Avatar franchise take off like they have the potential to do. It certainly helps to have new release dates that will help them take on the world in the fighting shape that they need to be in.

However, if you’re looking for something a little more recent to kill the time waiting for both of these box office events, you can check out our 2019 release schedule for your best options.

New Shazam! Video References Superman And Justice League

New Shazam! Video References Superman And Justice League

Shazam! will be the first DCEU solo film that features a superhero who wasn’t introduced in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and didn’t fight alongside the trinity in Justice League. At a glance, Shazam! might appear to take place in a different world entirely, but a new video from the film makes it clear that Billy Batson’s superhero exists in the DC world with references to Superman and the Justice League. Take a look:

This Chinese spot for Shazam! on Twitter shows that this movie takes place in a world like ours where kids are big fans of superheroes, but unlike ours it is a place where superheroes actually exists. Freddy Freeman is a big superhero fan and is thrilled to find that his new foster brother has superpowers, dropping references to Superman and other members of the Justice League.

As we’ve seen in the previous trailers, Freddy has one of Batman’s Batarangs, so not only is Batman someone kids idolize, he has his own memorabilia. It’s also fun to hear Freddy say “heroes fly” after the first Shazam! trailer, where Billy Batson was testing out his new powers and having difficulty doing much more than impressive jumping. To Freddy and kids like him, Superman is at the top of the superhero mountain, in large part due to his powers of flight.

Freddy specifically references Superman's death in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, showing how the events of the previous films are common knowledge in Shazam!

The best reference to the Justice League in this video is when a clearly out of his element Billy Batson tells Freddy Freeman that he can’t talk to fish, asking what good that power would be even if he could. This is a hilarious reference to the long-standing criticism and joke about Aquaman that he is the hero that talks to fish.

Freddy Freeman dunks on this oversimplification, saying that Aquaman’s powers allow him to command an army of billions of ocean dwellers. This seems to reference the events of December’s Aquaman and the war that took place beneath the surface. While saying this Freddy also tugs at his shirt that appears to have the Aquaman logo on it.

Unlike The Walking Dead, which takes place in a world where zombies were never part of pop culture, Shazam! takes place in a world where superheroes are something kids obsess over while also being real. That’s what makes the conceit of this movie so fun, a kid gets the kinds of powers that every kid dreams of having. He gets to experience all the joys of those powers while also discovering that with great power…you know the rest.

These little Easter eggs are fun for DC fans but they do raise some interesting questions about the DCEU overall and where Shazam! fits in it. The underwater world was being denied in the media in Aquaman, Superman was a controversial public figure and Batman was being viewed as a criminal in BvS. In Shazam! these superheroes are beloved by kids and have their own merchandise.

That makes the timeline for Shazam! in relation to the rest of the DCEU kind of murky. We know that at one point Henry Cavill’s Superman was expected to make a cameo in Shazam! and Zachary Levi is still hoping for his character to be part of the Justice League one day, but the continuity is all a bit unclear.

It’s probably best not to overthink it. The DCEU may be dead as Warner Bros. seems to be moving further and further away from the shared cinematic universe model and just focusing on making the best movies it can one at a time. To that end the early reactions to Shazam! are very positive teasing that the actual film is just as fun as the trailers and videos like the one above make it out to be.

Shazam! bolts into theaters on April 5. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of this and all the other big movies coming this year.

12 Actors Who Almost Played James Bond Over The Years

12 Actors Who Almost Played James Bond Over The Years

To be offered the part of James Bond is, to some, one of the most sought after gigs ever to hit a casting call. Others, past and present, have seen that offer as either a typecasting nightmare or a public relations struggle, thus making it a poison pill... figuratively speaking. Either way, if your name comes up in reference to a role so huge as 007, it tends to make the rounds whether you take it or not.

And out of the history of the men who would be Bond, there are 12 actors who are surprise choices, as well as some prime targets, that all would have brought something different to the role. But in the case of this batch of a dozen candidates, none of them were issued that infamous license to kill.

Cary Grant

Right from the beginning of recorded franchise history, there was a surprise candidate on the shortlist to play 007 that would have changed the history of the character forever. Hollywood legend Cary Grant was offered the role as casting for Dr. No was underway, thanks to the fact that he was a personal friend/best man to the producer running the show, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. While their friendship was strong, the British born, but American citizen Grant turned down the role for one important reason that was mentioned in The Guardian’s confirmation of this iconic story: at 58 years old, Cary Grant thought he had aged out of the part. Sean Connery was then cast, and the rest became history.

Dick Van Dyke

When Sean Connery left the role of James Bond for the first time, after 1967’s You Only Live Twice, a lot of candidates were vetted to take over the role, including a young Timothy Dalton. But while Dalton’s youth seemed to be the stumbling block that prevented him from taking the job, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star Dick Van Dyke didn’t get the leading role in another Ian Fleming adaptation because of his controversial English accent. According to knowledge that came out of an appearance on Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, via Yahoo, Van Dyke’s work on that very film was what interested Albert Broccoli in asking him if he’d wanted the role. But that offer quickly passed, as Dick Van Dyke asked him if he’d remembered his accent from Mary Poppins, and the offer was rescinded as quickly as it was made. Though, at the very least, Van Dyke did eventually apologize at the BAFTAs for the whole accent situation.

Clint Eastwood

If there was an American who could have taken the mantle of James Bond and been believable in the process, Clint Eastwood is one of the few who could have done it. During the hunt that eventually delivered George Lazenby into the lead for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Eastwood’s name came up in the proceedings as his lawyer also represented series mastermind Broccoli. Even in the face of an offer that gave him the hottest ticket in town, and, according to The Telegraph, a pretty lucrative pay day, the acting/directing powerhouse couldn’t bring himself to accept because it didn’t feel right. Considering how unforgettable Sean Connery was in the role, even to Clint Eastwood himself in that very moment, one can’t fault him for passing.

Burt Reynolds

Just as Burt Reynolds admitted in his autobiography that Sally Field was the one that got away in his romantic life, the Smokey and The Bandit actor fully admits that he also let his chance to be 007 slip through his fingers as well. Though, via USA Today’s coverage of that book, But Enough About Me, the late actor admitted that he passed up on the role merely because he didn’t think the moviegoing public would believe him as Bond, James Bond. Being offered the role around the time he played detective Dan August on TV, Reynolds turned down the chance to play the lead in Diamonds Are Forever. While this eventually allowed Sean Connery to return a second and final time to the franchise proper, Burt Reynolds felt that in retrospect, he could have done a hell of a job in the position.

James Brolin

This is the closest we’ve ever come to having an American playing the role of James Bond, as The Amityville Horror star James Brolin was pretty much cast as James Bond during a crucial phase in his 1980s history. The actor was screen tested for 1983’s Octopussy, when Roger Moore looked to be exiting the series in favor of new opportunities, and pretty much had the part. However, as Den Of Geek pointed out, the production of a rival Bond remake starring Sean Connery, and the recent financial woes MGM and United Artists ran into, both influenced the studio to win Moore back to his record setting job. So just as Brolin was getting ready to relocate to England full time, it all fell apart, leaving him to move onto one of his most famous roles: Peter McDermott, the general manager of the St. Gregory hotel, on the popular TV series Hotel.

Mel Gibson

While 1983’s Octopussy brought Roger Moore back to the table for two more James Bond films, 1985’s A View to a Kill would eventually mark the man’s official departure from the role. And around that time in movie history, a young Australian actor by the name of Mel Gibson was making a name for himself by starring in the Mad Max series of films. His work in that trilogy undoubtedly helped MGM come around to offering him the role, just in time for The Living Daylights to get underway, but Gibson was unphased by this potential job offering. Per coverage of an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, via Express, the man who would eventually shift over to films like Lethal Weapon said he rejected the idea because he wasn’t at all interested. Which was better off for the studio, because Albert Broccoli was not convinced he’d be a good fit, and the role eventually opened up for Timothy Dalton to finally claim it.

Sam Neill

Getting Timothy Dalton into the role of James Bond wasn’t as easy or certain as you’d think, as not only did he have to wait a while after first turning down starring in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (he felt he was too young for the role at the time), but he also was a part of a pretty wide net cast for The Living Daylights. That net not only included Mel Gibson, but also Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill, who was apparently bullied into screen testing for the film by his agent. At least, that’s what his remarks to The Telegraph said at the time he admitted to it. The screen test footage did eventually see the light of day, but not until after the settlement of a mini-crisis involving that clip not being fully cleared for usage before being included on the initial DVD release of The Living Daylights.

Ralph Fiennes

As the legal battle over the James Bond series flared up yet again in the late '80s, the delay between License To Kill and what would have been Timothy Dalton’s third Bond film eventually lead to the actor’s contract expiring without any attempt at renewal. Once the dust had settled and it was time to bring 007 into a post-Cold War world, Goldeneye was the name of the film that would make an actor the lucky spy to update the series. Believe it or not, we almost had actor Ralph Fiennes playing the role, as he admitted in an interview in Seven Magazine, via The Telegraph, that he was approached by the series’ producers. Ultimately, Fiennes wasn’t up to committing to a franchise, and he felt that the people in charge of the series were more stuck on Pierce Brosnan than anyone else. While he wasn’t too attached to Bond, Ralph Fiennes would eventually land a role that he’s still covetous of to this very day, Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise. Still, he is the current M in the Daniel Craig era of films, so you could say that this was fate.

Ewan McGregor

If there’s anything the James Bond series has taught fans, it’s that if you don’t retire from the role, a big rift in history will do the job for you. That’s how Pierce Brosnan ended up vacating the franchise, as once Die Another Day was released, he would eventually find himself replaced, with a new round of recasting up and running. And a lot of names were considered to be James Bond in the run-up to Casino Royale, with Ewan McGregor factoring in pretty chiefly among them. Of course, were it not for his performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars universe, he might not have felt typecast and would have taken the role. Though in more recent times, McGregor has admitted that if he were to ever be considered again, he’d be more inclined to take the part and run.

Hugh Jackman

Another pretty big name in the Casino Royale derby was the incomparable Hugh Jackman, of X-Men and The Greatest Showman fame. As the story he told Variety goes, his agent asked him if he’d want to be considered for the role, which was being recast around the same time that X-Men 2: X-Men United was about to go into production. Not a fan of the stories the James Bond series was running at the time, Jackman passed because he felt something edgier would have been his bag, and having another involved franchise on his plate would have complicated his schedule even more. So before it got too hot, Hugh Jackman politely declined, ironically just as the Bond series was about to reboot itself in that dark and edgy tone he probably would have said yes to.

Karl Urban

New Zealand native Karl Urban falls into a boat similar to that of American candidate James Brolin before him, as fate had other ideas when it came to his consideration for the role of James Bond. Only this time, as Urban told Nine.com, it was because of a prior engagement that he didn’t land the role of Casino Royale. While he met with the producers of the series, and things went rather well in that respect, all that was missing was one final screen test to seal the deal. And that deal was definitely not sealed, because Karl Urban’s filming schedule at the time prevented that screen test from happening. But as surprising as Urban’s name is on the short list, there’s one pretty big name that got to the final four, only to see Daniel Craig win out overall.

Henry Cavill

Still a couple years out from his career boosting role on Showtime’s The Tudors, as well as playing a very Bond-like figure in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a then-22-year-old Henry Cavill was part of the final screen tests that would decide who got to star in Casino Royale back in 2005. Listed among Daniel Craig, Goran Visnjic and Sam Worthington in the BBC’s coverage of the event, Cavill’s rejection story is quite simple when compared to all the others that we’ve covered previously. He simply wasn’t selected in the field that included Craig’s candidacy, which left him open for other opportunities in franchise like the DC Extended Universe and the Mission: Impossible series. Though another lesson that we’ve learned from the Bond franchise is, quite simply, never say never.

Henry Cavill has expressed interest and enthusiasm about potentially becoming James Bond, while cooly rounding off the rumors that continue to dog him as saying he doesn’t know what’s in store for the series after Daniel Craig’s departure. He certainly wouldn’t be the first person to get a second bite at the apple, with the potential to win overall, so we won’t count him out of the race just yet.

For now though, we’ll have Daniel Craig’s supposedly final James Bond film to look forward to, as Bond 25 is currently in production and set for an April 8, 2020 release date.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Director Reveals Stan Lee's Cut Lines

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Director Reveals Stan Lee's Cut Lines

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect cameo at a more perfect time than Stan Lee’s appearance in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. While selling Miles Morales a Spider-Man suit, Stan Lee’s shop owner tells the future web-crawler that he and Spider-Man were friends and that he was going to miss him before letting Miles know that the suit always fits, eventually. There were other lines considered for Stan Lee’s cameo though, and now Spider-Verse co-director Rodney Rothman has revealed what they are on social media. Per the co-director:

Man, this could have been a real Sophie’s choice because each of these alternate lines is great and would have worked for the function of the important scene. In different ways, each of the cut lines says something about the importance of having and believing in heroes, exactly the sort of thing that Miles Morales needs to hear in that moment after the death of Spider-Man.

The first and third lines speak to the invincible quality we ascribe to superheroes and those in our own lives growing up, that ability of heroes to seem larger-than-life and eternal. Stan Lee’s puzzlement in the second line, about why the Spidey suits keep selling, reminds us and Miles that people will always crave heroes to look up to.

Beyond just working as great lines for the cameo that service the scene, these lines also operate on a meta level. It’s almost eerie how each of these lines take on a certain poignancy and melancholy quality in the wake of Stan Lee’s death.

The first line, about not believing that Spider-Man could die, is how many of us felt about Stan Lee himself. The legendary comics creator just seemed to keep going well into old age with the vigor and enthusiasm of the most excited young fans that have enjoyed his work over the years.

The second line speaks to the incredible alchemy that Stan Lee and his contemporaries achieved with the superheroes that dominate cinema screens today. There is no exact, cut-and-dry answer revealing what about superheroes connects with people, but they do and thus continue to sell.

The last line is an especially tough one because we know in fact that Spider-Man did outlive Stan Lee, and that the legacy of the man will indeed live on because Spider-Man and all the other characters he had a hand in creating will live on.

This is some cool insight into the other potential lines Stan Lee could have thrown out in his Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse cameo. As Rodney Rothman said in his tweet, Stan Lee himself favored the line that wound up in the final film, as that’s the one that had the most meaning to him.

As we’ve heard before, that line was recorded not long after Stan Lee’s wife Joan passed away, so perhaps when he was saying, “I’m going to miss him” he was really thinking about his wife. That line and the part about them being friends is how many of us feel about Stan Lee. That, in some ways, he was like our friend and we are going to miss him.

Really Spider-Verse couldn’t have gone wrong with any of the lines, but it is nice to know the filmmakers went with the one that Stan Lee preferred. There was arguably no better balm to soothe our wounded hearts at Stan Lee’s passing than to see the comics legend in animated form in a Spider-Man movie.

That wasn’t the last time we saw Stan Lee onscreen though, he recorded multiple cameos before his death. We just saw one in Captain Marvel and there are still more to come.

The Best Animated Feature Oscar winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is now on home video. Check out our 2019 release schedule to see all the biggest movies still to come this year.

14 Best Disney Quotes That Found Their Way Into Everyone's Hearts

14 Best Disney Quotes That Found Their Way Into Everyone's Hearts

It’s been nearly 100 years since the entity that is now The Walt Disney Company was founded and over 80 years since the studio began to produce theatrical length animated films. Thanks to consistent re-releases and the advent of home video and DVD, those movies have remained in regular circulation for that entire time, which means several generations have grown up with these great animated movies and have taken advice from many of them.

While many pop culture fads have come and gone, Disney has remained, and while we all might have different particular favorite movies, we’ve all seen the classics, probably countless times. Since we saw many of them as impressionable children, these films may have had more of a profound impact on us than many of the other movies in our lives. Disney movies aren't immune to giving advice either; in fact, a single piece of dialogue can sometimes be enough to inspire people for years to come. With that in mind, we've compiled just a few of the quotes that have stuck with fans through thick and thin and that over the years we haven't been able to forget. Take a look.

"Always let your conscience be your guide."

These words were spoken by the Blue Fairy as an instruction to Pinocchio that came along with him being transformed into a living puppet and began his quest to become a real boy. Jiminy Cricket gets drafted into surface as Pinocchio's conscience, and remarkably, for a homeless insect, he’s well-suited to the job. It’s a good lesson for all of us to take to heart, even if we’re not always that great about following it.

"Just keep swimming!"

Dory is one of those Disney characters that you can’t help but love simply because she is so unabashedly optimistic. She deals with a pretty severe disability, but she never lets it get her down. Instead, she focuses on the future and simply repeats her mantra, “just keep swimming.” It’s something to keep in mind when you come up against any obstacle. Sometimes you just have to put your head down and keep moving forward.

"Think happy thoughts."

In order to learn to fly, you need to think happy thoughts. In Peter Pan it allows you to literally fly through the air. Unfortunately, in real life happy thoughts won’t let you actually fly, but they will help you feel like you could. Maybe thinking about Peter Pan is your actual thought, maybe it’s something more real, but we should all think happy thoughts as often as possible.

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."

The Emperor of China has been around the block a few times and so he knows the lesson Li Shang needs to learn when he very nearly lets Mulan go without letting her know how he feels. So often we all feel that the difficulties we deal with weaken us, but this quote reminds us that we’re all actually stronger because of it.

"Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it."

As much as we might love the song “Hakuna Matata,” The Lion King is very clear that the tune’s message about forgetting the past is the wrong way to go about things. As Rafiki tells us, the past is there for each of us to learn from. This line is what drives Simba to face his past after so many years away.

"I never look back, darling! It distracts from the now."

Of course, Edna Mode might not necessarily agree with Rafiki, but that doesn’t make her any less fun or her quotable lines any less memorable. Edna is the most quotable of the entire Incredibles franchise and this is probably the line that we all think of when we think of her.

"Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind."

For a movie that starts out as a science fiction movie about a destructive alien, Lilo and Stitch gets remarkably emotional This is best exemplified by this line, which is spoken a few times throughout the film. It’s a reminder that family isn’t always the people we’re related to. It’s also about the people that we choose to make a part of our lives. Like little blue destructive aliens.

"Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it."

Questions of fate and destiny are often at the heart of Disney stories. In Brave, Merida fights against the idea that she has no control over her own life. While things don’t exactly go the way she planned, she does come to realize that, whatever you call it, her life, as well as all of ours, are only what we make them. However, taking that responsibility in our own lives isn't always as easy as it seems.

"Some people are worth melting for."

Frozen’s Olaf has many great lines throughout the movie, but the most beautiful is probably this one. Anna is worried that Olaf will melt as he attempts to warm her. While one might have assumed that the childlike Olaf might not have realized what he was doing, he makes it clear that he’s a bit smarter than we’ve given him credit for, and he’s willing to do what must be done to help a friend, even if it harms him, because friendship is worth it.

"Like so many things, it’s not what’s outside but what’s inside that counts."

The peddler opens Aladdin with these words, giving us the smallest hint of the story we have yet to come. It’s not exactly an original idea, that who you are inside is what truly matters, but that’s part of why it works so well. The peddler himself acknowledges that we already know this, but that only reinforces its importance. Also, the line is spoken by Robin Williams so you can’t go wrong there.

"There’s no one I’d rather be than me."

Wreck-It Ralph may be a bad guy, but he’s not a bad guy, know what i mean? This line, part of the bad guy affirmation from the beginning of the film, comes back at the end as Ralph does what he can to save the world of Sugar Rush and his friend Vanellope. He accepts himself and all of his qualities that are beyond his control.

"Take her to the moon for me, okay?"

Of all the things that Pixar has done to tear our hearts out over the years, none may have been quite as powerful as introducing Bing Bong in Inside Out. His final words to Joy are a request to do the one thing with Riley that he had never been able to do. It tore our hearts out, but we never forgot it.

"Success doesn’t come for free. You have to do whatever it takes to seize your moment."

Sometimes, even bad guys have something useful to say. Ernesto de la Cruz may have taken this idea to an extreme in Coco by literally killing somebody in order to seize his moment, but the ultimate idea, that you have to work for success and take the opportunities that come along, is certainly one that we can’t forget.

"The only way to get what you want in this world is through hard work"

While Disney is frequently known as the company that cashes in on the idea of dreams and wishes, not every Disney Princess would believe you'll ever get what you want from life if all you did was wish for it. She believed in hard work and that's something we can certainly all take to heart.

Of course, this list really only scratches the surface of the great Disney quotes that have become memorable and important to all of us. Is there a quote not listed here that means a lot to you? Let us know about it in the comments below.

Jumanji 3: What We Know So Far

Jumanji 3: What We Know So Far

The game isn't over! While the third movie in the Jumanji series, following 1995's Jumanji and 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, has yet to reveal its official title, we can still fill you in on what information has been made available. Fans can expect a steady stream of Jumanji 3 news after filming starts, with updates continuing until the adventure movie arrives in theaters in late 2019. Here's what we know about the sequel so far.

When Will Jumanji 3 Be Released?

Jumanji 3 is currently scheduled for release on December 13, 2019. That gives it exactly one week before Star Wars: Episode IX takes over the box office. Jumanji has faced Star Wars in a showdown before, when Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opened on December 20, 2017, just after Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Considering that both films picked up piles of money in 2017, there will still probably be room for both of them at the 2019 box office.

Star/producer Dwayne Johnson announced the current Jumanji 3 release date on Instagram back in June 2018:

Officially planting our JUMANJI flag.

On DECEMBER 13th, 2019 - the game is not over.

I hold JUMANJI very close to my heart and I'm beyond grateful you made our movie into the global juggernaut ($1BILLION+) it became.

Can't wait for you to see what our new adventure & new characters have in store as Christmas comes early.

And once again, I get to slap @kevinhart4real's lip's into next week. The world is happy.

FearTheDrums #TheGameIsNotOver #JUMANJI DECEMBER 13th, 2019

Dates can change without notice, but this one should stick.

What Is The Jumanji 3 Rating?

The MPAA has yet to announce an official rating, but it will probably be PG-13. The first Jumanji in 1995 was PG, but this is more of a direct sequel to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which earned a PG-13 rating in 2017 for "adventure action, suggestive content and some language."

It's still early days for Jumanji 3 news, but considering how well Jumanji 2 did, there's a very high chance they won't change much about the basics for the 2019 movie. Welcome to the Jungle had a reported budget of around $100 million and the film made nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box office, per Box Office Mojo figures. It was the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2017 and the 42nd-highest-grossing film of all time. Of that total, $404.5 million came from the domestic box office, and $557.5 million from the foreign box office. No one really saw this coming, since the 1995 Robin Williams movie just made $262.8 million (not adjusted for inflation).

Who Is Writing And Directing Jumanji 3?

If it ain't broke... As suggested in the previous entry, the second Jumanji film was such a hit that Sony is bringing back the major players for Jumanji 3. According to Deadline, Sony asked Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner back to write a sequel, with Jake Kasdan returning to direct and help shape the story. Matt Tolbach will be producing, along with the Seven Bucks Production team of Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia.

Production Weekly (via MovieWeb) said Jumanji 3 is scheduled to start production January 21, and wrap filming around April 26. Jumanji 2 filmed in Hawaii and Georgia, but it may be something of a storyline change hint that filming for Jumanji 3 is meant to take place in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Canada. We should be getting more official information very soon. Dwayne Johnson will probably continue to share casting scoops and set photos from his Instagram, since he is a producer -- and he just loves to engage with fans in that way.

What Is The Plot of Jumanji 3?

This is the big question! So far, the Jumanji 3 team is staying secretive, but we're expecting more details to come out once filming gets underway. Back in June, Dwayne Johnson shared a photo from a development meeting, teasing just this on the plot:

Ladies, gents and children of all ages.. The JUMANJI SEQUEL is officially underway.

Holy shit what a dynamite pitch from our writer/director Jake Kasdan.

We couldn't stop laughing and most importantly - like our first JUMANJI - the HEART in our story is our anchor. [...] And sorry for the spoiler but @kevinhart4real dies in the first 15 seconds of the movie, to what I'm assuming will be a HUGE standing ovation from the audience and the cast @karengillanofficial @jackblack @nickjonas

He just loves to mess with Kevin Hart! So, we know the main actors from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle are all meant to return, presumably back in their roles as avatars for new players. And if Kevin Hart's avatar does die, at least he should be able to come back two more times. The four high school teens of Welcome to the Jungle left the film as newfound friends, and they destroyed the game in the end. But, since we're dealing with fantasy and magic, no one should expect the game to truly be destroyed. Jumanji 2 had some alternate endings that were discarded, THR reports, and it's possible the filmmakers will dip back into that well at some point.

Some of the actors have shared ideas for the sequel. Jack Black wants to head into space for an origin story. He wants to know where the game comes from, and who invented it, figuring it must be alien technology or from some "crazy jungle medicine man magic." I'd be down with an origin story, but we don't know if that's in the cards for this movie or any further movies. Karen Gillan added that she'd like to see a really old man choose her avatar, Ruby Roundhouse, so she could go from playing an introverted teen in Welcome to the Jungle to channeling the mannerisms of an old man. It would be funny if she got her way with Danny DeVito's new character since, at this point, we don't know who he is playing. (See below.)

What Characters Are Returning For Jumanji 3?

Here's what we know: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Kevin Jonas will return. In Jumanji 2, they played the respective avatars Smolder Bravestone, Sheldon Oberon, Franklin Finbar, Ruby Roundhouse, and Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough.

Back in August, /FILM talked to director Jake Kasdan and asked if the same kids would play a new game of Jumanji (despite thinking they destroyed it). Kasdan said they were busy figuring all of that out. He did say he believed it would be a continuation of Jumanji as a video game, rather than the board game of the first film.

Dwayne Johnson As Dr. Smolder Bravestone

The Rock's game avatar, Smolder Bravestone, plays to his literal strengths. He's a confident and clearly very muscular archaeologist and international explorer. In Jumanji 2, Dwayne Johnson got to play against type when the person playing his avatar was nerdy, allergy-prone Brantford High School student Spencer. Playing strong Dr. Bravestone helped Spencer develop his own confidence and leadership skills. It'll be interesting to see how Smolder Bravestone returns. Who will play him next?

Jack Black As Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon

Jack Black had a fun role in Welcome to the Jungle as Professor Sheldon Oberon. His cartographer was played by popular, self-absorbed pretty girl Bethany, who was not expecting to be Black's "overweight middle aged man" when she picked the avatar descriptor "curvy genius" when deciding to play the game. But, her character evolved over the course of the adventure. Hopefully Jack Black gets to continue to stretch his comedic chops in Jumanji 3.

Kevin Hart As Franklin "Moose" Finbar

Brantford High School football jock "Fridge" picked weapons and zoology expert Franklin "Moose" Finbar because he sounded "like a badass." To his surprise, he ended up in the much shorter body of Kevin Hart. Hence, size jokes. We get that Hart is on the short side, but hopefully Jumanji 3 doesn't go for that particular joke again. The set-up of Fridge and Spencer being former friends who reconcile through the game of Jumanji worked perfectly for the dynamic of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. The Central Intelligence co-stars have great comedic chemistry, so Jumanji 3 is going to have to harness that magic again.

Karen Gillan As Ruby Roundhouse

Karen Gillan plays "killer of men" Ruby Roundhouse, a fierce martial arts and dance fighting expert. Her avatar was played by shy high school student Martha. But Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Endgame star Gillan has gone on the record to say she'd love to see an old man play the Ruby avatar in a future movie. We'll see if she gets her wish.

Nick Jonas As Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough

Nick Jonas was something of a surprise addition to the group as avatar pilot Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough. He was the avatar of gamer Alex Vreeke, a teen who got stuck in the Jumanji game in 1996. This storyline was a direct tie to the original 1995 Jumanji film, since Alex had taken shelter in the game world in a house built by the previous Jumanji player, Alan Parrish, portrayed on film by Robin Williams.

In Jumanji 2, the four main players are rescued by Alex, who was the fifth player that was missing and unplayable when the teens first picked up the game. Welcome to the Jungle ended with Alex being able to go back to his own time, and grow up to be Colin Hanks, who named his child after Bethany after she saved his life. We'll have to see how the pilot character of Seaplane is used in the third film.

What New Characters Are Joining Jumanji 3?

Just recently we got word on the first new stars joining the Jumanji 3 team. Ocean's 8 and Crazy Rich Asians star Awkwafina is said to play a "key" and "significant" character in this movie. Shortly after that news came out, it was revealed that household name Danny DeVito would also be joining Jumanji 3. About a week later, it was revealed that Danny Glover would also be joining the cast. We'll be updated this guide, and our Jumanji 3 cast list, as new additions come in.

Dwayne Johnson, of course, posted about the new additions but didn't reveal anything about their characters beyond this little tease with his Danny Glover post: "The magic of our JUMANJI Universe is 'who turns into who?' and I'm excited for our [global] audience to join Danny and our entire cast on another wild and fun adventure." It's possible this level of secrecy will keep up until the first trailer comes out, or even the film itself. It's kind of fun seeing what surprises may be ahead, but there's more attention being paid to this movie, since Welcome to the Jungle was such a success, so they may not be able to hide all the tricks up their sleeves.

How Will Jumanji 3 Connect To The Previous Films?

It was initially thought that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle would be a reboot of the Jumanji franchise. Instead, it was a sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams movie. It didn't have many references to the original, but it was clear that it was set in the same universe. Director Jake Kasdan said he plans to have Jumanji 3 connect to both previous films, but especially Welcome to the Jungle:

Our hope is to keep a long continuity through the whole thing, even though the story that we're telling in the second movie, the movie that we're working on right now is much more connected to the first movie that I made a year ago than it is to the original. We love the idea of keeping all of this together and connected in some way or another.

Jake Kasdan also seems fond of the timeline element -- that players return to where they started in the real world once they win, even if years have passed in the game; while the in-world game retains elements from previous players, like the nod to Alan Parrish.

Will There Be A Jumanji 4?

This is most likely up to the box office. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who expected Jumanji to get a sequel, never mind Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle getting a sequel, too. Some people consider this to be Jumanji 2, since it's more of a direct sequel to Welcome to the Jungle with only passing references to the first film. But, some people also think 2005's Zathura: A Space Adventure is part of the Jumanji franchise, even though that movie's plot has no references to any Jumanji films. It was marketed as being set in the Jumanji world, as it's based on Chris Van Allsburg's sequel to the Jumanji novel.

Either way, it's too soon too to say if Dwayne Johnson, Jake Kasdan and company will return for a Jumanji 4. If Jumanji 3 cleans up at the box office this December, and into early 2019, that'll be a good sign. But, they'd also have to come up with a worthy idea, instead of just continuing because it might make more money. If Jumanji 3 disappoints on the story front, it would put a damper on any hopes for a fourth film. So, we shall see.

This Jumanji 3 guide will be updated periodically as more news, trailers, photos, and updates from The Rock come out before the December 2019 release. In the meantime, keep track of all the amazing films coming to theaters in 2019 in our handy film schedule.

Will Laura Dern Be In Jurassic World 3? 'I Could Never Say No’

Will Laura Dern Be In Jurassic World 3? 'I Could Never Say No’

This year marks the end of an era for a ton of franchises we love -- including Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, plus Game of Thrones on the television side. As these beloved storylines come to an end in 2019, fans love seeing their conclusions pull out all the stops and bring back some original key characters, such as Lando Calrissian and Palpatine returning for the end of Star Wars. In a couple of years, the Jurassic World trilogy will also come to a close, and we hope it will mean the return of Laura Dern’s iconic 1993 character.

When the actress was recently asked about the chances of her involvement in Jurassic World 3, she cemented her interest, but emphasized uncertainty whether it will actually happen. Here’s what Laura Dern said:

I don't know. I have no idea. I mean, I love Dr. Ellie Sattler, so I could never say no to that on any level. But I really don't know. I don't even know what they're cooking up yet.

Are you listening, Universal? Ellie Sattler is ready to come back and inherit the Earth! Make. It. Happen. After how Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom left us hanging last summer, Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire Dearing are going to need all the help they can get. If you remember, dinos are loose everywhere!

During Laura Dern’s ET interview (via Yahoo!), she was asked if she had any discussions with Chris Pratt about the upcoming sequel, and she said this:

I met Chris recently at a restaurant, we didn't even know each other. It was really funny. We ran into each other's arms and hugged each other like we were family because we were both in the same movie [franchise] and he just seemed fantastic and is hilarious. But yeah, I don't know any more.

Recently, Laura Dern seems to be reuniting with other actors from the Jurassic Park franchise left and right. She ran into Sam Neill at an HBO event a few months ago and Joseph Mazzello (who played Tim in the 1993 classic) at the Critics’ Choice Awards as well. I think it’s a sign: Laura Dern needs to come back to her rightful place in the franchise.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard have both been vocal about their interest in Laura Dern joining them for Jurassic World 3, and Jeff Goldblum (who made a short appearance in Fallen Kingdom) said this last year of his hope for her return:

I don't want to pass on gossip like my character. But it would be good news to me and to everyone, [to] millions and billions of people all over the world... all over the universe and cosmos when Ellie Sattler returns.

Agreed! The badass paleobotanist has been absent from the big screen since she made an appearance in 2001’s Jurassic Park III. Capping off the Jurassic World trilogy with her return when the film hits theaters almost exactly 20 years later on June 11, 2021 would make a lot of fans happy (if done right, of course)! As we wait for more updates, here's what we know so far about Jurassic World 3.