Get ready to head back to the jungle because the third and final Jumanji movie, officially titled Jumanji: Open World, is heading to cinemas in just over one month. But there's a twist this time. Not only will we see our favourite explorers Professor Smoulder, Shelly, Mouse, and Ruby back in their natural habitat, but the Jumanji universe will collide with the real world, sending out prehistoric beasts and villainous foes onto the streets of Boston.
The threequel welcomes back Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillian, and Kevin Hart seven years after we last saw the group take on Jurgen the Brutal in Jumanji: The Next Level. But the squad has bigger fish to fry this time around as they try to prevent the end of the world itself. Sony has so far treated us to two full trailers, the most recent of which sees The Rock's Dr. Smoulder get gobbled up by a hippo and fall in love with Black's Professor Shelley. But more on that later.
So, before Jumanji 3 premieres this Christmas, scroll on down through our guide to everything you need to know about the action-adventure saga's final showdown, including the release date, cast, plot, and more. And when you're ready for more, you can check out our list of other upcoming movies to look out for in 2025 and beyond.
Jumanji 3 release date
Jumanji: Open World will release in theaters on December 25, 2026.
Originally scheduled for December 11, Sony has now shifted the release of Jumanji 3 back to Christmas Day (via The Wrap) in order to avoid facing down the one-two punch of 'Dunesday,' the Barbenheimer-esque nickname given to the simultaneous release of Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday on the same day.
The original date was confirmed in 2024 by Sony Pictures. The festive release is no new thing for the franchise, as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level were both released during December. However, judging by set pictures, it looks like this sequel will lean more into the Christmas theme than previous installments.
The road to release has not been easy. Before the team could start working on the film, production on Jumanji 3 was stunted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, even though work did resume in 2021, it was radio silence until 2024 when Sony confirmed that the movie was still happening and locked in a release date.
In November 2025, the official Jumanji Twitter account confirmed that the film had entered production in Los Angeles. On November 19, 2025, Dwayne Johnson shared a video on Instagram documenting "day one of Jumanji." Filming then wrapped in April 2026. This means that it will take almost 12 months to film and finish Jumanji 3, compared to The Next Level, which took 11 months to complete from its filming start date to its premiere. Could this mean that Jumanji 3 is going to be even bigger than its predecessors?
Jumanji 3 plot
The official synopsis for Jumanji: Open World from Sony reads, "This Christmas, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan are reunited in Jumanji: Open World, the hilarious final instalment of the globally beloved action-adventure trilogy. Our heroes have escaped the perilous jungles of Jumanji before, but this time Jumanji breaks free of its console, unleashing its chaos into our world."
Now, that isn't a lot to go on. But the trailers give us a few more clues. From what we have seen so far, it looks like Spencer, his mom, his cousin, and a local chef will get sucked into the game. Just like in Jumanji: The Next Level, the avatars are switched around this time, with Spencer controlling Gillan's Ruby Roundhouse, his mom as Johnson's Dr. Alexander 'Smoulder' Bravestone, Spencer's kid cousin as Hart's Mouse, and the cook, Donatas, as Black's Professor Shelley.
But while the new team is trying to complete the game, Jumanji also manages to spill out into the real world. This leaves in-game characters Dr. Smoulder, Ruby, Shelly, and Mouse wandering around in Boston without being controlled by players. That's right, the game avatars are completely autonomous. With giant lizards and rhinos running wild on the streets of Boston, the team on the inside and the outside must work together to contain the game and save the world. The stakes are higher than ever, as in the trailer it looks like when you lose all of your lives, you die for real.
We already had an inkling that this was going to happen. The Jumanji: The Next Level post-credits scene shows animals from the game escaping into the real world. Plus, first look images posted by Dwayne Johnson on Instagram show the four in-game characters out in the real world, in Boston.
But Open World isn't the first Jumanji movie to see the game break out into the real world, as the original 1995 film, based on Chris Van Allsburg's picture book of the same name, follows a similar premise. At Cinema Con (Entertainment Weekly), Johnson said the new movie honors Williams. Johnson also paid his respects to the late, great actor when Jumanji 3 entered production. The star took to Instagram, and shared a close-up of the original Jumanji movie's poster and a necklace with a dice pendant.
"The significance of the dice in the last picture is a little Easter egg that my character, Dr. Smolder Bravestone, wears on a necklace in our final film," said Johnson. "It’s the dice from the original 1995 Jumanji." With the inclusion of the dice, could the upcoming movie feature the Jumanji board game rather than a video game? And could Dr. Bravestone be connected to Williams' character Alan? We, for one, would love to see the franchise come full circle.
Jumanji 3 trailer
Sony has released two Jumanji: Open World trailers so far. The first Jumanji 3 trailer, which was released on July 29, 2026, focuses on the avatars in the real world. The clip sees Spencer, Martha, Fridge, and Bethany attempt to round up avatars Dr. Smoulder, Mouse, Shelly, and Ruby after they are spit out of the game and left to wander the real world. While all of this is going on, various animals and foes from the game are also breaking out into the real world.
The most recent Jumanji 3 trailer, which hit the internet on October 28, focuses on the game portion of the movie. The clip, which you can watch above, sees Spencer, his mom, his kid cousin, and a local family friend get sucked into the game. This time, Spencer is in control of Ruby's body, his mom is Smoulder, the child is Mouse, and the rather charismatic cook Donatas is Shelly, who spends most of the time flirting with Dwayne Johnson's beefy avatar.
Jumanji 3 cast
We know that the bulk of the main cast is returning, led by Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black as the franchises’ core four in-game characters will return: Dr. Xander ‘Smolder’ Bravestone, Ruby Roundhouse, Franklin ‘Mouse’ Finbar, and Professor Sheldon ‘Shelly’ Oberon. Beyond that, the OG players are also back, That's Alex Wolff as Spencer Gilpin, Ser'Darius Blain as Anthony Johnson, Madison Iseman as Bethany Walker, and Morgan Turner as Martha Kaply.
We also know that Danny DeVito, who played Spencer’s grandfather Edward Gilpin in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, is returning. As for in-game characters, Nick Jonas will make an appearance as in-game avatar Jefferson 'Seaplane' McDonough, as well as Rhys Darby as in-game guide Nigel. Newcomers include The White Lotus star Brittany O’Grady as Spencer's mom, Janice Giplin, Jack Jewkes as Spencer's little cousin Tyson, and Dan Hildebrand as family friend and cook Donatas.
Here is the confirmed cast of Jumanji 3:
- Dwayne Johnson as Dr. Xander ‘Smolder’ Bravestone
- Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse
- Kevin Hart as Franklin ‘Mouse’ Finbar
- Jack Black as Professor Sheldon ‘Shelly’ Oberon
- Alex Wolff as Spencer Gilpin
- Ser'Darius Blain as Anthony Johnson
- Madison Iseman as Bethany Walker
- Morgan Turner as Martha Kaply
- Nick Jonas as Jefferson 'Seaplane' McDonough
- Danny DeVito as Edward Gilpin
- Brittany O’Grady as Spencer's mom
- Rhys Darby as Nigel
- Dan Hildebrand as Donatas
- Jack Jewkes as Tyson
Is Jumanji 3 the final Jumanji movie?
Yes, unfortunately, Jumanji 3 will be the last movie in the franchise. Dwayne Johnson confirmed the news just as the film entered production. "What a massive, fun, heartfelt adventure," said the star, "Feels emotionally appropriate for our beloved Jumanji franchise to end on this beautiful grace note of our final film."
We did suspect this might be the case when Kevin Hart teased his and Dwayne Johnson’s 'final' movie together. "We’re talking about, of course, another Jumanji," said Hart to Variety. "[We're] just figuring out the thing that can act as what would or could be the final chapter of he and I. We feel we need something big to put our duo to an end and not just leave it undone like something that we can say, this is going to be our last and final movie." It looks like Jumanji 3 might be that last film for the duo.
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