Jumanji is a rare film series that has managed to reinvent itself. The original Jumanji from 1995, starring Robin Williams, was based on Chris Van Allsburg's children's book about a board game that brought the dangers of the jungle into a small American town. In 2017, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle turned the premise around: the board game became a video game, and young players were sucked into it as adult avatars. The film was a huge success and was followed by Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). Now the trilogy concludes with Jumanji: Open World, which opens in Finnish cinemas on Christmas Day, 25 December 2026.
What is Jumanji: Open World about?
According to the description published by JoBlo, the familiar foursome – Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan – return for the final chapter. The heroes have survived the jungles of Jumanji before, but this time the game breaks out of its console and unleashes its chaos on our world.
The premise is a clever return to the roots. In the 1995 original, Jumanji came into the real world, while in the newer films the players went into the game. Open World combines the two. The title refers to open-world video games, in which the player can move freely through a vast environment. In this case, the whole of reality appears to become the playing field.
JoBlo's headline for the second trailer says the worlds collide in the final game. Sony has not revealed any more detailed plot twists.
Cast
All the key actors return:
- Dwayne Johnson – Dr. Smolder Bravestone
- Kevin Hart – Mouse Finbar
- Jack Black – Professor Sheldon Oberon
- Karen Gillan – Ruby Roundhouse
- Alex Wolff, Madison Iseman, Ser'Darius Blain and Morgan Turner – the young players whose avatars the stars play
- Danny DeVito, Nick Jonas, Rhys Darby, Bebe Neuwirth, Lamorne Morris and Marin Hinkle
New names include Brittany O'Grady (The White Lotus) and Burn Gorman, as well as Dan Hildebrand and Jack Jewkes. The roles of the new characters have not been revealed.
The series' humour rests on the young players' personalities being inside the bodies of adult stars. In the previous film the pattern was flipped when Danny DeVito and Danny Glover ended up in the game as old men, which gave Dwayne Johnson the chance to impersonate DeVito. Mixing up avatars and players is the series' most reliable joke, and the trailers promise new variations on it.
Jake Kasdan concludes the trilogy
Director Jake Kasdan also directed the previous two instalments and co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. Continuity within the creative team is the series' strength: each instalment has felt like the work of the same hand, and the tone has stayed light, fast and family-friendly.
Age rating and running time
KAVI's age rating and the official running time had not been published at the time of writing. We will update the details once they are confirmed. The film is distributed in Finland by SF Studios.
Analysis: a Christmas Day spectacle for the whole family
The Jumanji films have been among the most reliable box-office draws of the holiday season. Welcome to the Jungle opened in December 2017 and stayed in cinemas for months, becoming families' shared film of the Christmas holidays. Open World is aiming for the same with its Christmas Day release.
The competition is tougher than in 2017, however. Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three will already be in cinemas in December, and on the same day The Angry Birds Movie 3 and the Finnish comedy Kyllä isä osaa Espanjassa open as well. Jumanji sits between them: more approachable than the weighty science fiction epics, but aimed more at older children and adults than a purely animated film.
Final chapters of trilogies always face the same challenge: they must both deliver the familiar and close the story satisfyingly. The banter between Johnson, Hart, Black and Gillan has carried two films, and if the same chemistry works a third time, Open World could be the easiest film choice of the Christmas holidays for the whole family.
Catch up before the release
- Jumanji (1995) – Robin Williams' original, in which the game came into the real world. Open World returns to the same idea.
- Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) – introduces the players and their avatars.
- Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) – the previous instalment, whose ending sets up the trilogy's finale.
What to look out for in the trailer
The trailers show the familiar game characters meeting the everyday world. The comedy comes from the same source as before – the avatars' and players' personalities do not fit together – but now there is also a contrast between video game rules and reality. Sony has not said how the game manages to escape the console, so there is little point guessing at plot details before the release.
Our expectations
We expect what the two previous instalments offered: a well-paced adventure, chemistry between the actors and humour that works for all ages. What is new is that the action moves into the real world, which could bring a refreshing change to the series. The challenge for a third instalment is surprise, as the avatar joke is already familiar. If the film finds new ideas in the collision between the game world and reality, it could be the strongest of the trilogy. The Christmas Day release and family-friendly tone make it a natural choice for the holidays in any case.
Frequently asked questions
When is Jumanji: Open World released in Finland?
It opens in Finnish cinemas on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026.
Is this the last Jumanji film?
The film is being marketed as the final chapter of the trilogy that began in 2017.
Who is returning?
Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan return, as do Danny DeVito, Nick Jonas and the actors who play the young players.
This text is based on information published by the film's distributors, production companies and film media. Assessments and interpretations are our own and are not based on seeing the finished film unless stated otherwise.
