‘Jumanji’ Remake Cast, Updates: Former Teen Idol Nick Jonas May Join Dwayne Johnson in New Cast; Filming Scheduled to Begin in Hawaii this Fall

‘Jumanji’ may cast former teen idol Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the new cast. Filming is scheduled to begin in Hawaii sometime in the fall of this year.

According to the Guardian, Jonas is in early talks to join Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black in the upcoming ‘Jumanji’ remake. No further details regarding his possible involvement have been announced as of the present.

Jonas is a singer-songwriter best known as one of the members of the pop rock band The Jonas Brothers before embarking on a solo career. He also worked on feature films and television shows including ‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian’, ‘Hannah Montana’, ‘Camp Rock’, and ‘Hawaii Five-0’. He currently stars as a series regular in Audience Network’s drama ‘Kingdom’ and appeared on five episodes of Fox’s ‘Scream Queens’.

The original adventure-fantasy film directed by Joe Johnston starred Robin Williams in the lead role as Alan Parrish, a man trapped in the Jumanji board game for twenty-six years. It was released on December 1995 and was considered one of the highest-grossing films of that year. Despite its lukewarm reception among critics, it was a financial success earning $262.75 million against a production budget of $65 million, according to The Numbers.

Jake Kasdan of ‘Orange County’ and ‘Bad Teacher’ fame is set to direct the new film with a screenplay penned by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Johnson admitted in a previous interview that Kasdan’s upcoming film will be a “reimagining” of the 1995 classic and is created in honor Williams.

According to Biz Journals, it was confirmed that filming for the remake will take place in Hawaii sometime this fall, specifically in September or October. It was reported that the film’s production team is actively scouting Hawaii for possible filming locations. The state receives an average income of $250 million annually for films produced in the locale.

‘Jumanji’ is an upcoming adventure-fantasy film scheduled to be released on July 28, 2017. It is produced under Sony Pictures Entertainment, Matt Tolmach Productions, Radar Pictures, and Seven Bucks Productions and is distributed in the United States by Columbia Pictures.