Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle was the textbook example of an unexpected hit back in 2017. Emboldened by its successful revitalization of the Jumanji brand, a sequel was quickly put into the works, and as such the mad scramble was on to get the film ready for its December 17, 2019 release date.

Taking on the box office so close to a Star Wars sequel may seem foolish, but it certainly worked for the last Jumanji movie, and Jumanji 3 has one hell of a cast to help it even the odds. If you want to know the score about what's going on with the new Jumanji sequel in general, feel free to read up on the news with our "What We Know So Far" guide. For now though, let's see who's returning, and who's new, to the world of Jumanji!

Dwayne Johnson
Every group needs an intrepid leader, and as such, Smolder Bravestone is the defacto leader of the group of avatars returning from Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle. But having Smolder returning to kick all sorts of ass just wouldn't be the same if any other than Dwayne Johnson was playing the role. So thankfully, hearing his name among the returning cast members, as well as producer of Jumanji 3, was the sort of blessing this project needed.

There's been plenty of action in Johnson's life since Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle's release, as he saw Rampage and Skyscraper, as well as the third season of Ballers jump off in 2018. Not to mention, 2019 is going to be a pretty big year for Dwayne Johnson in and of itself, as both his performances in Fighting With My Family and Hobbs & Shaw will be hitting the screens throughout 2019. So Jumanji 3's filming and release at the end of that very year should be a cherry on top of another productive year.

Karen Gillan
Another vital co-star in the Jumanji universe is, of course, Karen Gillan. After all, what fun would it be to see Smolder Bravestone returning without Ruby Roundhouse to fight alongside him? Kicking, punching, and even dancing her way through danger are her specialties, as Ruby was quite the brawler in the previous Jumanji sequel. So even if she's, say, controlled by an old man playing her game, don't expect any of that to change too much.

2019 is also a pretty fantastic year for Karen Gillan, as she'll not only see Jumanji 3 heading to theaters, but she'll also have a couple of animation projects she'll be lending her voice to in the year. Both the animated adaptation of Jack London's Call Of The Wild, as well as Blue Sky Animation's Spies in Disguise, will hear Gillan's voice spouting from two different animated avatars. But, of course, her most anticipated role of 2019 is that of Nebula, in the Marvel Studios' soon-to-be mega blockbuster Avengers: Endgame.

Kevin Hart
Zoologist. Weapons storage. Allergic to cake. Those are all vital terms that can identify Smolder Bravestone's official sidekick, Franklin "Moose" Finbar, and they're going to be important to identifying his role in Jumanji 3. More important is the fact that Kevin Hart will be stepping into the shoes, and undoubtedly those backpack straps, to reprise his Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle character.

In-between Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle and Jumanji 3, Hart has seen his career diversified as much as anyone else in the cast has. Not only did he see a return to his usual comedy schtick in Night School, but Kevin Hart also scored an surprise hit with the recent release of The Upside. And Jumanji 3 isn't his only sequel for 2019 either, as he's returning as the voice of rabbit revolutionary Snowball in Universal and Illumination's The Secret Life of Pets 2.

Jack Black
Professor Shelly Oberon is a master in the world of cryptography, cartography, and many other fields that a learned person would be the master of. That is, if he's not busy being eaten by hippos, or espousing his current controller's dismay that they aren't exactly the rugged Indiana Jones type. But no matter who's controlling Professor Oberon, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle wouldn't have been complete without Jack Black carrying the character through the film, and his return to Jumanji 3 only proves it!

Black has certainly been keeping up his family friendly credentials as of late, what with The House with a Clock in Its Walls and a brief appearance in Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween making his 2018 super productive. Though it does look like he's pretty open for 2019, which is good for the sake of his newly launched gaming channel on YouTube, "Jablinski Games." Of course, that's whenever he's not filming Jumanji 3.

Nick Jonas
Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough knows danger like he knows how to pilot a helicopter: quite well, thank you very much. The last piece to the returning Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle crew, his rugged countenance played by Nick Jonas would surely be missed if it were absent from Jumanji 3. Not to mention, Jonas's character was a vital part to the backstory of the game, as well as how it tied into the Jumanji mythos overall; so even though he wasn't one of the more publicized characters in the film, he's pretty important.

While things have been mostly radio silent since his appearance in Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Nick Jonas does have three films that should be taking off within the next year or so. Between Chaos Walking and Midway still searching for release dates in post-production, and UglyDolls having secured a May 3, 2019 drop date, we should be seeing quite a bit of his face on movie screens throughout this year.

Awkwafina
The first of our new cast members needs very little introduction, as Awkwafina had two pretty big movies last year: Ocean's 8 and Crazy Rich Asians. Now, she's entering the ring of big budget family entertainment, as Jumanji 3 has enlisted her as one of the new characters that will be introduced. More than likely, she'll be a human controller to one of the characters in the game, but that's pure speculation at this point, as all of the new characters are being kept under wraps. Awkwafina will also be heard in another big Sony sequel, The Angry Birds Movie 2, set for release this August.

Danny DeVito
Karen Gillan has gone on record as stating that she'd love to have an older man controlling her character in Jumanji 3, as it would challenge her to take on the mannerisms of such a character. Well, she's going to have two actors to possibly choose from, one of whom is Danny DeVito, who's also recently joined the Jumanji 3 cast! Adding to the excitement that is DeVito's 2019 is a role in Tim Burton's live-action Dumbo remake, which reteams him with his Batman Returns director. Maybe his work with elephants will pay off in this possibly new jungle adventure.

Danny Glover
Last, but not least, Jumanji 3 has most recently added a rather lethal weapon to their arsenal. Danny Glover was announced as the latest cast member to join the Jumanji 3 family, which poses the question of whether the two of them will be a pair of friends who stumble upon one of their grandkids' video games. Seeing as the original game is destroyed, and details for any of these new characters are under wraps, it's a valid guess; but as new information surfaces, we'll see if that pans out. Most recently seen in The Old Man and the Gun, Glover will also be seen in his other 2019 project, The Last Black Man in San Francisco.