My, how things have changed in just four years. Four years ago, just as the world was starting to come out of a global pandemic, one of the biggest stars in the world, Dwayne Johnson, opened his latest family blockbuster, Jungle Cruise. And it was a big hit, even with it simultaneously dropping on Disney+. Plans for a sequel were soon announced, and not a single soul was surprised.
But then Johnson released Black Adam. And then Red One. And it looked like Johnson’s undeniable box office draw was slipping. He soon made the pivot to more independent films, reuniting with his Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt for the MMA drama, The Smashing Machine. It easily, and rightfully, got the actor the best reviews of his career, but it was clear things had changed.
All of which is preamble to the news you came here to read. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Johnson and Blunt were asked if they believed Jungle Cruise 2 would still happen, and both replied, “I don’t think so.”
“I think when Disney came under new leadership, they just shifted coming out of COVID,” Johnson elaborated. “COVID shifted our business in a lot of ways. I think they looked at that property and thought, ‘We did it once, not sure if we should revisit it again.’ Despite whether or not our chemistry was great.” Blunt then added that, “They did not want to set sail again, and that’s fine.”
Johnson is still very much in Disney’s plans, though. He’s returning as Maui in the live-action Moana, which just had a record-breaking trailer debut, and even has a small voice role in next week’s Zootopia 2. It just seems that the adventures on the Disney ride have ended. The backside of water will have to wait.
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