An Overlooked Sci-Fi Franchise Is Coming Back Sooner Than You Think

Release dates aren’t as reliable as they used to be. In an era where script issues, worldwide events, and industry strikes have postponed movies for years, no theatrical release date is secure, and getting your hopes up can lead to disappointment.

Usually, though, the start of a movie’s production is a sign that things are headed in the right direction, and fans can get (cautiously) optimistic. On that note, a new update has revealed that an overlooked sci-fi franchise is on track to hit its release date, which is sooner than you may think.

While speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival (per Variety), Dwayne Johnson discussed his collaboration with Kevin Hart, whom he’s worked with since the 2016 buddy cop movie Central Intelligence. They’re perhaps best known for the rebooted Jumanji franchise, which began with 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

That movie took the “board game comes to life” premise of 1995’s Jumanji and modernized it by having its characters get sucked into a video game. Since then, the franchise has been quietly chugging along, with a sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, dropping in 2019, and Johnson announcing that production of another sequel will begin this November.

It’s been a long time coming: the movie was announced in 2020, then set aside when Hollywood locked down. It took until October 2024 for Sony Pictures to officially announce a December 11, 2026 release date, and now that we know about its production schedule, it should be right on track for release.

Jumanji 3 (or 4, if you count the original) will reach theaters more than seven years after its predecessor, but at least it’s still happening. And then that might be it; back in 2023, Kevin Hart teased to Variety that this would be the final Jumanji film for him and Johnson. Even the Rock’s gotta stop cooking eventually.

The next Jumanji sequel hits theaters December 11, 2026.