Dwayne Johnson Reveals ‘Jumanji 4’ Release Date

Dwayne Johnson is on the media circuit at TIFF for his UFC biopic film, The Smashing Machine, but that didn’t stop him from giving a quick—but crucial—update to his reboot blockbuster series, Jumanji.

According to Screen Rant, Johnson announced that a fourth installment in the series—more specifically, a third starring The Rock—is coming next year. While the news that a fourth Jumanji film is coming isn’t itself new, its status has been a little up in the air since at least 2021. Suffering from delays due to Covid and Johnson filming Red One, the actor has now confirmed the franchise’s fourth film will begin filming this November, with a projected release on December 11, 2026.

What’s the secret to Dwayne Johnson’s chemistry with Kevin Hart? Height difference plays a role, but the main thing is trust. And that trust leads to Jumanji 3 shooting in November! #TIFF pic.twitter.com/3jU6mjdATt

— Screen Rant (@screenrant) September 8, 2025

The original 1995 Jumanji starring Robin Williams, saw Williams return to the real world after being spirited away into a board game. Inversely, the 2017 reboot, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, starring Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan, answered what happens when kids get teleported into an old video game and have to control the adult actors as their avatars. Evidently, the film’s flipping of the script and leaning heavily into video game archetypes—a formula repeated in its follow-up, The Next Level—resulted in what has become a dependable blockbuster franchise for Sony, raking in billions worldwide.

Johnson has recently expressed feeling pigeonholed as a blockbuster Hollywood film guy, voicing a desire to be taken seriously as an actor through The Smashing Machine, a film for which he received a standing ovation for his emotional performance.

“I liked those movies and they were fun,” Johnson said, referring to the blockbusters he is known far. “Some were really good and did well, and some not so good! But I think what I did realize is I just had this burning desire and this voice that was just saying, ‘What if there’s more, what if I can?’ Sometimes it’s hard to know what you’re capable of when you’ve been pigeon-holed into something.”

And yet, the former wrestler turned actor couldn’t hide his excitement to return to what he does best: starring in films that let his action-hero skills come through, tight t-shirt and all, and which generate impressive box office returns for whatever production studio’s name appears under his marquee. Somewhat ironically, following Johnson’s pigeonhole comment, news broke that the actor would reteam with The Smashing Machine director Benny Safdie to star as the Chicken Man in Lizard Music, a fantasy adventure based on the popular 1976 book by Daniel Pinkwater. If all of this was a clever rouse to plant a poultry easter egg to signpost where his next blockbuster ventures are headed, we truly are just living in The Rock’s world.

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