This Great 77% RT Movie Is What Dwayne Johnson's Jumanji Franchise Could Have Looked Like If It Hadn't Made Just $65 Million

Feb 5, 2025 - 14:00

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This Great 77% RT Movie Is What Dwayne Johnson's Jumanji Franchise Could Have Looked Like If It Hadn't Made Just $65 Million

Before Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle , there was another sequel in the series that came more than a decade earlier which had a very different style to the original 1995 movie. Jumanji came out in 1995, and immediately became a classic film for all the family. The story, adapted from a novel by Chris Van Allsburg, was brought to life with incredible visual effects, and the wonderful performance of Robin Williams, which led to the movie racking in over a quarter of a billion dollars (via The Numbers).

And while the film did inspire an animated TV series, there was no official sequel until 10 years later, when another related novel by the same author was adapted with director Jon Favreau helming the project. Zathura: A Space Adventure, takes place in a very different setting, although it also features a mysterious magical board game which causes bizarre and spectacular events to occur. However, the Jumanji sequel did not manage to gain the same level of excitement, and the franchise was put to bed.

Zathura Was Great, But Its Box Office Wasn't Good Enough For A Sequel

Zathura Had A Lot Going For It

Zathura had an incredible director, who went on to direct Iron Man, the foundational film in the MCU, and is now spearheading everything for the big and small screen from Star Wars. It also featured Josh Hutcherson as one of the kids playing the game, Kristen Stewart as his grumpy older sister, Tim Robbins as their father, and Dax Shepard as a boy who got lost in the game many years earlier. However, all of this combined may have looked more like a Jumanji rip-off than an actual sequel.

Jumanji 4 Should Copy The Last Action Hero To Explain The Rock's Role

Jumanji: The Next Level ended with an intriguing setup for Jumanji 4, which should take inspiration from Last Action Hero for The Rock's character.

While it's true that the movie does not technically overlap with the original, it's important to acknowledge that both are connected and share some sort of foundation, but the marketing for the movie failed to capitalize on the link between these stories. As a result, the movie only managed to squeeze out a box office that roughly matched the initial production budget, meaning the film was certainly a financial flop. And that led to these remarkably imaginative stories being put on hold.

If Zathura Had Been A Box Office Success, Dwayne Johnson's Jumanji Movies Would Look Very Different

Zathura Could Have Kicked Off A Broader Jumanji Franchise

Of course, in 2017, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle reinvigorated the franchise with a new cast, a new game, and some interesting body swapping, but it's hard not to imagine what these movies could have looked like if Zathura had taken off in a similar way to the original movie. In a landscape where studios continue to build monolithic franchises, these two games could have been the foundation for a larger set of magical mystery games, with other films exploring new creative concepts.

This could have led to a mystery revolving around who made these games, how they work, and why they made their way into the world, becoming a central plot for the franchise. Otherwise, the 2017 movie could have looked very different, combining elements from both of the original entries, or taking the story to a whole new realm of possibility. Looking at the earlier projects, and the contrasts between the first two movies, it appears that the possibilities for these stories could have been endless.

Can Jumanji 4 Revisit What Made Zathura A Great Jumanji Movie?

Jumanji 4 Is Unlikely To Connect To Zathura

Both Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level have a clear jungle theme. The films have updated the format to have the players engage with a video game rather than an old dusty boardgame, but they have tried to keep the world inside Jumanji as similar to the original as possible. However, these stories also have a much more immersive style, similar to what appeared in Zathura, putting the players in the middle of the action.

Jumanji 4: Release Date, Cast, Story & Everything We Know

Jumanji: The Next Level was another hit at the box office for Sony Pictures and a sequel is on the way. Here's what we know so far about Jumanji 4.

But, if the next movie wanted to incorporate details from Zathura into the movie, it would most likely be jarring, confusing, and out of place for fans of the franchise so far. Space and the jungle are two completely different beasts, and while almost anything can happen in Jumanji, there is an aesthetic and style that has shaped the series. While Zathura may have been the original sequel, it now sits firmly in the position of a spin-off, having no real links to the narrative playing out in the current run of movies. However, Zathura could have some Easter Eggs in an upcoming Jumanji movie, but it's unlikely to steer the plot in any meaningful way.