Whereas the 1995 film Jumanji brought the wonders and horrors of the jungle into the suburbs of New Hampshire, the long-gestating follow-up Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will play the opposite game, transporting its characters straight into the wilderness. This time around, Jumanji takes the form of a video game, but the biggest difference yet is what it does to those who play. The teens who get sucked into the game don’t exactly stay true to themselves in the process, instead transforming into the avatars they chose when firing up the console.
Nat Wolff’s nerdy, allergy-ridden high schooler Spencer enters the body of Dwayne Johnson to become Dr. Smolder Bravestone, a man with no weaknesses. Morgan Turner’s shy and unpopular Martha who becomes Karen Gillan’s Ruby Roundhouse, a powerful warrior and Lara Croft-type. Teenage jock Fridge starts out as Ser’Darius Blaine, only to turn into the diminutive Kevin Hart. And finally, popular Bethany transforms from Madison Iseman into Jack Black, the clumsy Professor Shelly Oberon. To put it lightly, this is a movie that really leans into the charms of playing against type.
We got to chat with the four main actors on the film’s Honolulu set (which is, incidentally, also where they filmed Jurassic Park) and watched a scene in which the characters figure out their new powers and abilities. Smolder, for instance, is fearless, super fast, good at climbing, and can use a boomerang like nobody’s business, not to mention the smoldering intensity for which he gets his name… which Johnson demonstrated a number of times. Johnson is used to playing physically powerful pseudo-supermen, and Smolder is definitely that. What we’re seeing in Jumanji, however, is a kid accustomed to relying on his intelligence discovering what it’s like to be physically imposing.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Johnson told us, “and a great challenge. So, the great challenge of me being who I am as this avatar, it’s Dr. Smolder Gravestone. Throughout the film, I just, well, smolder.”
If you’ve seen any of Kevin Hart’s movies or standup, you know he’s on board with playing the height thing for comedy. The twist this time is playing a character who’s new to being a little guy. Hart told us, “I think we put a lot of small innuendoes in here that people will be able to kind of wink at and understand and agree with.” That said, Hart was determined to find something strong and sincere in his comedic character. “I wanted to just be different,” he said. “I wanted to stand out. Not come off like a clown, but come off as a person who embraced this world of the jungle. This Jumanji-esque world. You get why this guy’s in there, from his backpack, to his short shorts, to all of the patches on his vest.”
In turning into Moose, Fridge discovers new strengths beyond the physical in himself. “That’s the guy that you technically want to be with when you’re in these situations, and you get why his presence is felt,” Hart said. “It’s not just about being funny.”
Karen Gillian is no stranger to action. She’s played Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy and even faced a bit of action in her seasons on Doctor Who. But what’s new for Gillan about her Jumanji role is her lack of confidence. “She’s a bit of a geek,” Gillan said. “She’s very smart in school but not very good socially. She takes on the avatar [that] happens to be this really kickass karate expert, badass girl. She just does not know how to inhabit this body at all.”
It may surprise Gillan’s fans to learn that she relates more to Martha than to her avatar counterpart Ruby. “I don’t know why I keep on getting cast in roles where I have to do so many action sequences, because, honestly, I’ve got two left feet and I look like a piece of spaghetti trying to fight people,” she said. “I feel like I got cast because Jake [Kasdan], the director, could tell I was a bit of a nerd in high school. He said that and I was like, ‘You’re absolutely right.'”
As for Ruby Roundhouse’s special power, it may be the most fun of the bunch: dance fighting. “First off, I didn’t know what dance fighting was until this movie,” Gillan said. “I think we might have invented it. It was really fun. I had to do this seductive routine and basically kill two men. It was maybe the best day of my life. So much fun.”
Jack Black is of course known for his comedy, and slips from one character to another with ease in the same conversation, let alone across different movies. After making up songs about the film for half of our interview, he joked that this role, that of a 16-year-old girl, is probably closer to who he is than the dorky yet funny guys he plays in most of his films.
“In a weird way, I feel like it was the real life I was born to play,” Black said. “It was very easy to tap into my inner 16-year-old girl. I don’t know why. But just to have that power of attraction. It’s subtle, but when you know you’ve got it, you know you’ve got it. And it’s just a look, a subtle gesture, and you know you’ve got it.”
Are you guys excited for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle? Is there a particular character you’re looking forward to seeing? Tweet us your thoughts at @JennaBusch and @Nerdist!
Images: Sony Pictures Entertainment
