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By James Brizuela
Contributing Writer
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Dwayne Johnson has become a huge star for Disney, as he has starred in "Moana" 1 and 2, will be in the live-action reboot of the animated film, "Jungle Cruise," and many more. Though the media company knows his value as an actor, they appear to have canceled a highly requested sequel that would have brought Johnson back to a fan-favorite role.
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Disney has not been shy about turning some of its most popular media into mainline franchises, such as rebooting practically every classic animated film into a new live-action venture. Also, the famous theme park rides have received more attention since "Pirates of the Caribbean" exploded onto the world.
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Both "Haunted Mansion" and "Jungle Cruise" have received movies, the former of which has had two. Both properties failed to make big splashes at the box office, but "Jungle Cruise" remains a fan-favorite.
It could be the combination of Johnson and Emily Blunt, but the Disney adaptation has a 92 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. There was hope that a sequel would come about, but both Johnson and Blunt have all but confirmed the sequel has been axed.
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When speaking to Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive interview, the pair of co-stars confirmed Disney is unlikely to visit the jungle again.
"'I don't think so,' both stars say, with Johnson, who also produced the film, elaborating further on why the Jungle Cruise sequel might not happen — at least in the near future."
"'I think when Disney came under new leadership, they just shifted coming out of COVID," the 53-year-old explains. "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 adds that 'they did not want to set sail again, and that's fine.'"
Disney shifted leadership a few times between when "Jungle Cruise" was filmed, as Bob Iger ran the company from 2005 to 2020, before stepping down and handing the reins to Bob Chapek from 2020 to 2022, before handing them back to Iger.
Disney has been adamant about its release schedule and also not falling into the pitfalls of adapting everything. With "Jungle Cruise" reporting a sizable loss for the media company, it is not shocking that a sequel is moving forward, regardless of the star power of Johnson and Blunt.
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