Sony reveals Jumanji: Open World title and first trailer at CinemaCon — out Christmas Day
Sony Pictures unveiled the official title and first trailer for its long-awaited Jumanji threequel — Jumanji: Open World — at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Monday, 14 April 2026, with stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black on stage to deliver a heartfelt tribute to Robin Williams ahead of a Christmas Day release.
- The sequel is officially titled Jumanji: Open World and arrives in cinemas on 25 December 2026.
- The trailer shows the game breaking into the real world, with avatars “stuck in demo mode.”
- Johnson revealed that original dice from the 1995 Robin Williams film appear as an Easter egg throughout the movie.
- Director Jake Kasdan returns alongside the full core cast; Johnson has said this will be his final Jumanji.
The game comes to us
Seven years on from Jumanji: The Next Level, Sony closed its CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas’s Caesars Palace Colosseum with the franchise’s biggest swing yet. As Variety reported, the first footage shows Jumanji’s chaos breaking free of its console and spilling into the everyday real world — ostriches charging down a New England high street, jungle creatures rampaging through quiet suburban America.
The trailer opens with a computer repair technician finding an old Jumanji console in a family home, triggering the rupture. Cut to Spencer and his friends encountering Johnson’s avatar Dr. Bravestone — now inexplicably speaking with a Spanish accent — sitting in a diner booth. Hart and Black’s avatars materialise too, though, as Black’s character puts it: “I’m beginning to suspect we’re not in Jumanji.”
“I’ve never had more fun working on a movie. This is my favourite so far.”
— Jack Black on Jumanji: Open World, CinemaCon, April 2026. Source: The Hollywood ReporterHart, ever the contrarian, was having none of it. “This was not a good time for me,” he told the crowd. “It was fucking work.” The exchange was a preview of the chemistry that made both predecessors genuine crowd-pleasers.
A Robin Williams tribute at the heart of the story
The most affecting moment of the CinemaCon presentation was Johnson’s tribute to the late Robin Williams, whose 1995 original film set the entire franchise in motion. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Johnson told the audience that one half of the original dice used in Williams’ film appears as a hidden Easter egg in every single scene of Open World. Raising a hand to the sky, he said: “Robin, this one’s for you.”
He had previously shared his intent on social media during production, describing the dice as a show of respect and a way of honouring the actor who started the franchise. The gesture is likely to resonate strongly with audiences who grew up with the 1995 film.
Box office context: what Sony is banking on
Jumanji is among Sony’s most consistently profitable franchises. The studio shifted Open World‘s release date from 11 December 2026 to Christmas Day specifically to avoid a clash with Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday, according to The Future of the Force. Christmas Day puts it in prime family blockbuster territory.
Full cast and crew returning
Director Jake Kasdan helms the sequel for the third time, working from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg — the same trio behind The Next Level.
New additions to the cast include Burn Gorman (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and Nasim Pedrad (New Girl), alongside Brittany O’Grady of The White Lotus. Gillan was absent from the CinemaCon stage, though Johnson gave her a notable shout-out during the presentation.
Is this really the end for Johnson?
Johnson has indicated that this will be his final Jumanji film — at least as the franchise currently stands. Whether Sony finds a way to continue the series without its lead remains an open question. With $2 billion already in the bank from two films, the studio has every financial reason to keep the dice rolling.
For now, the message from the CinemaCon stage was clear: Open World is pitched as a send-off, not a cash-in. Whether the film delivers on that promise will be answered when it opens on Christmas Day, 25 December 2026.
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Lewis Calvert Founder & Editor, BriefLedger
Lewis founded BriefLedger and has six years of experience covering film, TV, and entertainment news. He leads the site’s Movies and TV sections and runs the news desk — always with a straight-talking British take.
