Jack Black on filming Jumanji: The Next Level’s snowy tundra setting: “I thought Dwayne’s nipples were going to break off”

(Image credit: Sony)

Where Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle took us to the, er, jungle, the sequel is heading to a variety of settings, including a snowy tundra. 

“We went to the highest mountaintops in Calgary, Alberta in Canada where it was freezing, and snow was everywhere,” Dwayne Johnson tells our sister magazine Total Film, which has Jumanji: The Next Level on the cover. “We dealt with hailstorms and windstorms, but it makes for a spectacular movie. And then we went to the middle of the desert. We were in the sand dunes. And then we went back to the jungles."

Jack Black, who co-stars in the movie, says “each location was its own particular type of hell – and heaven." He continues: “It was beautiful to go up to the snowy tundra of Canada and get those incredible mountain peaks. But my God, it was cold. I thought Dwayne’s nipples were going to break off. They were like sharp icicles. His costume – it’s not a very warm costume. When it came to the snow look, he could have had a nice puffer jacket. But he was like, ‘We’ve got to keep the rippling muscles in full view at all times.’ The dunes were fucking hot but glorious. You really can’t overstate how important a location is. It creates the world.” 

(Image credit: Sony)

Karen Gillan concurs. “It just felt like the elements were as extreme as you would imagine it would be in a game. But it was also incredible, because you had this authentic feel. It could have gone the route of CGI or video game graphics. But actually they went for real and authentic.”

The cast spoke at length with Total Film magazine about the movie for the latest issue's cover feature. The new issue reaches store shelves on October 18. Meanwhile, Jumanji: The Next Level reaches cinemas December 13.

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(Image credit: Future)

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Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.