While 2021 has seen movie theaters reopen across the world, there hasn’t been a ton of good news when it comes to the box office, especially over the past several months. The spike in COVID cases has seemingly hurt the overall enthusiasm of film fans to rush back to cinemas. That said, there have been a few breakout hits, including Disney’s “Jungle Cruise.” And as the film crosses the $100 million domestic box office milestone, the studio is ready to move ahead with a sequel.
According to THR, Disney has decided to begin work on a sequel to “Jungle Cruise.” The sequel is expected to see the return of the two stars, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, as well as writer Michael Green and director Jaume Collet-Serra. Specific plot details are not known at this time, but it’ll be the next adventure to feature the adventuring duo of Frank Wolff and researcher Dr. Lily Houghton.
As mentioned above, “Jungle Cruise” has been a pretty decent hit for Disney during a time when hits are hard to come by. Making things more interesting about the financial success of “Jungle Cruise” is how Disney released the feature both in theaters and as a Disney+ Premier Access title (for $30) on the same day. Many theater owners have spoken out against this move, which the studio also did for titles like “Cruella” and “Black Widow.” However, it appears to be a strategy that has garnered some success, as “Cruella” has also been given a sequel and “Black Widow” hasn’t completely derailed the Marvel Cinematic Universe (though the studio is fighting a lawsuit due to the release).
It’s unclear when production on the sequel might happen. Not only are Blunt and Johnson incredibly busy with their various projects, but filmmaker Collet-Serra is just now finishing up production on his superhero film, “Black Adam.” Considering that film doesn’t have a release date until July 29, 2022, it could be quite a while before we see cameras roll on “Jungle Cruise 2.”