Disney's Jungle Cruise was one of the movies that delayed itself by a full year out of the gate back in the spring of 2020. And while it certainly wasn't able to have the massive box office opening weekend it was hoping for, between theatrical release and Disney+ Premier Access, the movie has done pretty well for itself. It's still a hit with fans, even if the definition of what that means has changed a bit. While circumstances might be unusual, Disney has apparently decided it liked what it saw, as a sequel has now been given the green light, and Dwayne Johnson is excited.
The actor, who starred as Frank Wolff alongside Emily Blunt, took to Instagram to thank the fans for making Jungle Cruise a hit, as the movie has now passed the $100 million mark domestically. And he's clearly ready to go on another cruise. Most of the core Jungle Cruise team will be back both in front of and behind the camera. While Johnson and Blunt are back to star, Jaume Collet-Serra will return to direct the film from a script by Michael Green. Johnson confirmed all this in his post, saying:
Em & I raisin’ a glass to you in celebration of our official JUNGLE CRUISE SEQUEL THANK YOU and your families around the world for discovering and loving our film ~ in theaters and in your living rooms. And a HUGE MAHALO for making Jungle Cruise cross that $100M mark at the US box office. Jungle Cruise is only the 4th movie of 2021 to achieve that milestone. Not an easy accomplishment these days, so thank you guys so much. Let’s get this sequel on the road. Jaume Collet-Serra back to direct. Michael Green back to write. And I get to tag along as Emily Blunt’s sidekick.
While the movie business has been more than a little unusual of late, with Disney you wouldn't know it by the way the studio has been greenlighting sequels. Both Cruella and Jungle Cruise, movies that saw simultaneous theatrical and streaming releases, have been given sequel orders, which indicates the studio sees potential in them despite the fact that neither was even capable of performing on par with what we would consider box office blockbuster level success.
It's far too early to know what will be in store for Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in the Jungle Cruise sequel, but it will almost certainly include them on another major river of the world in search for some treasure. The Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World takes place on multiple rivers. The first movie took place on the Amazon so the sequel could see the duo cruise down the Nile, the Mekong, the Congo, or more. There are enough places the the Jungle Cruise experience happens that we could easily see several more sequels.
As one of those people who had fun with the first movie, I'm certainly looking forward to the sequel. I'm also hoping Jack Whitehall gets to go along for the new ride as well. He was an entertaining part of the first film and the boat would feel just a little bit empty if he's not on it again. Also, more puns.
Obviously, the script isn't written yet so it's going to be a while before Jungle Cruise 2 becomes an active concern and gets a release date. And then, one has to wonder what will happen when it gets that release date. Will Jungle Cruise 2 be a theatrical film? Will be a Disney+ Original? Could it get a dual release simply because the first movie did? There's a lot about the future that we just don't know, but it will be interesting.
