Jumanji: Open World has a new trailer, and this time the game is not waiting to be played. Sony Pictures released fresh footage on October 28, 2026, showing the jungle adventure spilling out of its console and into the real world, just in time for a Christmas Day theatrical release. The studio is billing it as the final chapter of the modern trilogy, with the tagline: “Our world. New rules. One final game.”
The new trailer opens at Christmas, with jungle animals rampaging through suburbia as the familiar world of Jumanji begins to bleed into everyday life. Spencer Gilpin, played by Alex Wolff, warns that the game has spilt into their world — and the consequences are immediate. His mother, Janice, played by Marin Hinkle, gets pulled into the game, setting up the film’s central twist: the avatars are no longer trapped inside a console. They are loose in our world.
That inversion is the biggest swing the franchise has taken since it rebooted itself in 2017. For two films, the joke was teenagers trapped in adult bodies inside a video game. Now the game itself is the intruder, and the trailer leans hard into the chaos that follows: the avatars appear in the real world as stilted, demo-mode versions of themselves, still bound by game logic but free to roam a neighbourhood that has no idea what hit it.
Who is back for Jumanji: Open World?
Director Jake Kasdan returns for his third Jumanji film, having helmed both Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and The Next Level (2019). He co-wrote the screenplay with returning franchise writers Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, working from Chris Van Allsburg’s original children’s book. Dwayne Johnson, Matt Tolmach, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia produce alongside Kasdan.
The core four are all back in their avatar roles:
- Dwayne Johnson as Dr. Xander “Smolder” Bravestone
- Kevin Hart as Franklin “Mouse” Finbar
- Jack Black as Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon
- Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse
The original players return too: Alex Wolff as Spencer, Madison Iseman as Bethany, Morgan Turner as Martha and Ser’Darius Blain as Anthony “Fridge” Johnson. Nick Jonas is back as Jefferson “Seaplane” McDonough, Danny DeVito returns as Eddie Gilpin, and Rhys Darby and Awkwafina reprise Nigel Billingsley and Ming Fleetfoot. Newcomers to the franchise include Lamorne Morris, Brittany O’Grady, Burn Gorman and Nasim Pedrad, whose roles have not yet been disclosed.
One of the trailer’s most talked-about beats is the body-swap comedy. Spencer’s mother ends up in Bravestone’s body and refuses to fight, while Spencer, in Ruby Roundhouse’s body, tries to defend her. The chef Donatas, played by Dan Hildebrand, also joins the game in the body of Professor Oberon. It is the franchise’s signature gag — mismatched minds in heroic bodies — pushed into a new setting where the stakes are no longer confined to a screen.
When does Jumanji: Open World come out?
Jumanji: Open World opens exclusively in theatres on December 25, 2026. The film was originally dated for December 11, but Sony moved it back two weeks in March 2026 to claim the Christmas Day slot. The full title was revealed at CinemaCon in April 2026, and the first trailer arrived on July 28, 2026, ahead of this second, fuller look.
In India, Sony Pictures Entertainment India will release the film in cinemas in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on December 25, 2026. A rating and runtime have not yet been announced; expect those details to land closer to release.
Why the real-world twist matters
The twist is more than a gimmick. It solves the franchise’s biggest sequel problem. Welcome to the Jungle earned roughly $962 million worldwide, and The Next Level followed with about $802 million — together, more than $1.76 billion for the modern films alone, and over $2 billion across the whole franchise including the 1995 original. But the second film’s softer total showed the limits of repeating the same inside-the-game formula. Moving the game into the real world gives Kasdan a fresh playground without abandoning the body-swap comedy that made the reboot work.
It also brings the series full circle. The 1995 original, starring Robin Williams, was about a board game that emptied a jungle’s worth of wildlife into a small town. The reboot traded the board for a cartridge and sent players inside. Open World merges both ideas: the game escapes, and the town — this time a Christmas suburb — has to deal with it.
The Christmas Day slot is no accident either. The modern trilogy has always been a holiday play: Welcome to the Jungle opened December 20, 2017, and The Next Level on December 13, 2019. Sony is betting that families looking for a big, four-quadrant adventure over the holidays will turn out again — and that “one final game” gives the outing event status.
What to watch for next
Expect a final trailer in late November or early December, along with the official rating, runtime and international rollout details. The biggest open questions are how much of the film actually takes place in the real world versus inside the game, and whether the “final chapter” billing truly closes the book — or leaves a door open for the next generation of players.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Jumanji: Open World released?
December 25, 2026, exclusively in theatres.
Who directs Jumanji: Open World?
Jake Kasdan, returning after directing both previous modern films.
Who stars in Jumanji: Open World?
Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan lead the cast, with Alex Wolff, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Nick Jonas, Danny DeVito, Rhys Darby and Awkwafina returning.
Is Jumanji: Open World the last Jumanji movie?
Sony is billing it as the final installment of the modern trilogy, though no studio has ever treated “final” as permanent.
What is Jumanji: Open World about?
The Jumanji game breaks free of its console and spills into the real world at Christmas, forcing the heroes to deal with jungle chaos in their own neighbourhood.