Share

Jumanji reboot will honour Robin Williams

Los Angeles - Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is adamant the forthcoming remake of Jumanji will honour the late Robin Williams.

The 44-year-old hunk - who will star in and produce the reboot - wants to stress that, although they're planning to jazz up the movie, the fallen star's character Alan Parrish in the original will always be remembered and they're planning to do something special with his former alter-ego.

Taking to his Instagram account, Johnson said: "An important thing that I want to be honest and bring up is Robin Williams. The love and respect I have for this man is boundless. You have my word, we will honor his name and the character of "Alan Parrish" will stand alone and be forever immortalized in the world of JUMANJI in an earnest and cool way.

"I have an idea of what to do and I think his family will be proud. I also think Robin is somewhere lookin' down and laughing, remembering the first time we met backstage and I (for the first time ever) was a star struck bumbling idiot that couldn't even get my words out. Idiot.

"He literally calmed me down w/ that smile and laugh. But that's for another fun story down the road. (sic)"

And the #JUMANJI magic begins. Excellent meeting with our director Jake Kasdan, producer Matt Tolmach, and our @SevenBucksProd team to work on our new re-imagining of this amazing story. I felt like in order to craft something cool we should begin where it all started. Award winning writer Chris Van Allsburg's source material of JUMANJI. Chris also wrote THE POLAR EXPRESS (later adapted by Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks) and has a very special & magical way of storytelling. I'm feelin' good and confident stepping into these shoes as a producer as well as actor to bring you something great that you and your entire fam can enjoy. An important thing that I want to be honest and bring up is Robin Williams. The love and respect I have for this man is boundless. You have my word, we will honor his name and the character of "Alan Parrish" will stand alone and be forever immortalized in the world of JUMANJI in an earnest and cool way. I have an idea of what to do and I think his family will be proud. I also think Robin is somewhere lookin' down and laughing, remembering the first time we met backstage and I (for the first time ever) was a star struck bumbling idiot that couldn't even get my words out. Idiot. He literally calmed me down w/ that smile and laugh. But that's for another fun story down the road. We got a great team assembled already over at our home base of SONY and now we build from here. Here's another fun part... in the original movie there were three big roles. In our new story there's now FIVE. Been so damn cool to see all my actor buddies push their projects aside so hopefully they can come play in our world. Should have cool casting announcements this week. Will keep you posted. #TheMagicBegins #JustPressStart #JUMANJI

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on

Williams - who tragically committed suicide in 2014 - starred in the 1995 movie as the 12-year-old boy, who gets trapped in a board game with his friend Sarah Whittle in 1969.

Twenty-six years later, Judy and Peter Shepherd find the game in their attic and begin to play, but unbeknownst to them, they accidentally release the now-adult Alan.

Meanwhile, Jake Kasdan is set to direct the remake, while Kevin Hart is rumoured to be starring alongside Johnson.

Details on the flick are being kept tightly under wraps but Johnson has revealed there will be five main characters this time around, rather than the two in the original flick.

Jumanji is set to hit cinema screens next July.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE