If Disney has their way, Jungle Cruise will act as their next Pirates of the Caribbean: a movie based entirely on their own theme park attraction, starring charismatic leads, and well-liked enough that it goes on to spur a whole franchise-worth of sequels. The Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt-starring blockbuster hasn’t even released yet, but that’s apparently not stopping Disney from dreaming big anyway.
According to Johnson in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, initial discussions are already underway regarding a possible Jungle Cruise sequel. Johnson’s a pretty confident and self-assured guy, as proven by his recent escalation of the festering Diesel/Johnson rivalry, but willing an entire sequel into existence is a feat I’d love to see him try and accomplish. Johnson and Blunt hit it off so well during filming that he’s brought her into his close-knit group of “regular collaborators,” a roster that includes both Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart. In addition to the nascent Jungle Cruise sequel, Johnson has also used his star power and producer clout to cast Blunt in a yet-to-be announced upcoming production.
Johnson goes on to positively gush about his co-star, saying “Not only is she a huge movie star but, more importantly, really the most empathetic human being I’ve ever met.” As if to prove that their chemistry is for real, Blunt talks up Johnson in the most glowing terms as well:
“When you get to know him as being much gentler, much more shy than people realize, you really realize that The Rock is the performance of a lifetime. It is so the antithesis of who he is. And so I’m going to push him to play, to take big swings with characters. Because it’s really transformative if you know him as I do and then you see him be The Rock — you’re like, ‘Who is that?’”
Jungle Cruisin’
Disney’s ambitions for this prospective Jungle Cruise franchise is no secret. During /Film’s set visit, producer Beau Flynn raised the possibility of continuing adventures that would match the scope of the theme park ride.
“Well, that’s certainly the dream. We would all love to see that from Disney and Dwayne and Emily, to Hiram [Garcia] and myself and our whole team would love to see that. The movie does complete itself and does wrap up and work really well as a movie. But there are some – we’ve been designing some paths that can go to future worlds. That’s very organic to the ride, as you just mentioned.”
Flynn also adds that this was not a case of putting the cart before the horse, emphasizing the organic nature of how they would theoretically approach a sequel to Jungle Cruise. Theater marquees everywhere are littered with previous failed attempts at franchise-building, but Johnson and Company surely hope to be the exceptions here.
We’ll have to see how Jungle Cruise performs upon release, which is set for July 30, 2021.
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