Remaking Jumanji is, at best, unnecessary, and at worst, infuriating. Robin Williams, the original film’s star, passed away a mere two years ago. It feels way too soon to start mining the beloved actor’s oeuvre for remake fodder, right? Well, Dwayne Johnson, who is set to star in the updated film, doesn’t think fans of the family classic should worry. On Monday, he posted a lengthy message on Instagram, letting everyone know that his upcoming remake will honor the character that Williams played in the 1995 original.
In the Instagram post, Johnson describes how important acknowledging Williams is to this project, as it moves forward.
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.
In the Williams-led adaptation of the Caldecott Medal-winning picture book, the Alan Parrish character is sucked into a mysterious jungle-themed board game as a kid. 26 years later, two children find the game and release Alan, along with a ton of wild animals.
Though, it’s certainly cool that there will be some sort of Alan Parrish easter egg in this remake — a shout out to people who grew up loving this film and Williams — this Jumanji remake really didn’t need to be a remake. The Jumanji story is seemingly never-ending — the game moves from one group of people to the next, and at the end of the original film, a new pair of kids find the magical board game. So, Johnson’s movie could have easily been a sequel — an idea that might have been less alarming to Jumanji and Williams devotees.
Kevin Hart will be co-starring in the remake, which will be directed by Jake Kasdan (Sex Tape). Jumanji will hit theaters July 28, 2017.
You can read Johnson’s entire Instagram post below.
