Jack Black to star alongside Dwayne Johnson in the remake of Jumanji

Hollywood actor Jack Black is set to join the cast of Jumanji remake, this has been confirmed by an Instagram post by The Rock (Dwayne Johnson). The Rock, who is an actor in and co-producer of the film remake, took to Instagram to reveal to the world about Black's role in the film and also a bit about the remaining cast.

Describing Black as an old friend of his, Johnson wrote that he has been a big fan of Black's work and that he was confident he would deliver a sterling performance for Jumanji given his brilliance as an actor. He went further on to say that people would understand what he was talking about when they finally see Black's role. He also added that Black brings a rare balance of cool with funny and a childlike joy in their reimagined film.

Johnson's Instagram post also confirmed that Kevin Hart will be starring in the upcoming film too. It also mentioned two other lead cast but never revealed their identity. One of them is a lady.

The Jumanji remake is being directed by Jake Kasdan. Kasdan has previously directed films such as Orange County, Bad Teacher, and Sex Tape among others. The rebooted film is set to hit the theaters on July 28, 2017. The original Jumanji film which was produced in 1995, starred the late Robin Williams as a lead actor. It was an adaptation of the children's book, "Jumanji" by Chris Van Allsburg.
Dwayne Johnson has since said that they will try to honor the late Williams in their Jumanji remake. He said so a few days ago after posting a photo of himself holding the Jumanji storybook on Instagram. He had just returned from a meeting with director Jake Kasdan, producer Matt Tolmach, and his own Seven Bucks production team. He said that they will honor Williams' name and that the character “Alan Parrish” will be uninterferred with and will remain immortalised in the world of Jumanji. Johnson at the same time talked about his personal respect and love for the late actor and described how he (Johnson) had been starstruck upon encountering him backstage at an event for the first time.

Following Dwayne Johnson's statement that the character of "Alan Parrish" will be uninterferred with, there are concerns on whether that means the mythology of the original movie will remain intact or whether there will just be a mere reference to Alan Parrish's name somewhere in the movie. This can however only be known when the movie comes out next year.

The Jumanji remake will be distributed by Sony Pictures. It will be written by Scott Rosenberg alongside other screenwriters who include Jeff Pinker, Erik Sommers, Zach Helm, and Chris McKenna.

According to other sources, Tom Holland could also be having a role in the upcoming film. Holland is a Hollywood actor who also doubles up as a director and screenwriter. He has mostly delved into thriller and horror films. As an actor, he has previously had a starring role in Hatchet II among other films. The combination of Holland, Johnson, Black, and Hart will certainly make for a great Jumanji remake.