Jumanji-Themed Amusement Park Rides Announced: First Image Released
In keeping with its premise, the Jumanjifranchise is coming to life with amusement park rides and themed hotel rooms. The series first began in 1995 with a Robin Williams-starring film about a jungle-based board game that branches out into the real world whenever someone starts to play it. Also starring Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, and Bradley Pierce, Jumanji earned mixed reviews but became a box office smash. Its enduring popularity lead to expansions into television and actual games, but the Jumanji franchise wouldn't see a true resurgence until 2017.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle fully revived the property by offering a new twist on the premise; rather than a board game, Jumanji is now a video game that sucks in its players. The 2017 box office smash starred Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black, all of whom ended up playing against type in clever ways. A sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, then followed in 2019, and another installment is currently in development. So far, the Jumanji franchise has grossed a combined $825.3 million domestically.
Related: What Jungle Cruise 2 Means For The Rock's Jumanji Sequels
Now, Jumanji is set to become the latest big screen property to expand into amusement parks. Per Variety, Sony Pictures and Merlin Entertainments (the company behind Legoland and Madame Tussauds) have partnered up to develop Jumanji attractions across Merlin's Resort Theme Parks and Waterparks in Europe and North America. The first «experience» associated with the franchise is a theme park ride that will open this April at Merlin's Gardaland Resort in Italy. Titled «Jumanji — the Adventure», the ride will take its material from the most recent films and center on teens trapped in a video came.
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