There is a strong call for Kirsten Dunst’s comeback ever since Jake Kasdan revived the ‘Jumanji’ franchise in 2017. But according to Dunst’s recent words, she has received no offers to reprise her role as Judy Shepherd in the new films, even for a cameo.
Kasdan explained why in a new chat with The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “We love Kirsten. She’s fantastic. From the time we did ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, we were very focused on keeping a little bit of connectivity to the original movie, which we love. We’ve always wanted to honor it and keep enough of it alive. Also, the way the original movie ends, as brilliant as it is, creates a lot of plot complications in trying to continue the story with those characters.”
The original 1996 film’s ending left only Robin Williams’ Alan and Bonnie Hunt’s Sarah with memories of the events caused by the board game. “So, it has this complicated, clever bit of storytelling at the end that has always made the challenge of continuing their story very complicated,” the director noted. “But, that said, within that complication, we’ve loved trying to figure out some way to do it in a way that is fun and passes some kind of fidelity to the original story.”
Bebe Neuwirth’s Nora did appear in the 2019 sequel, ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’, as a diner owner but never referenced her niece Judy and nephew Peter (Bradley Pierce).
Kasdan is currently developing what is planned to be the last film of the ‘Jumanji’ series rebooted in 2017. The production remained on hold during the COVID pandemic and the director’s reunion with Bonnie Hunt for this year’s Christmas feature, ‘Red One’.
Sony announced the release date for the next installment as December 11, 2026. Further details, including its subtitle, have yet to be revealed.
