Jake Kasdan to helm "Jumanji" remake for Columbia Pictures

PanARMENIAN.Net - Columbia Pictures has hired Jake Kasdan to direct "Jumanji" remake, AceShowbiz said citing The Hollywood Reporter. It will be a challenging job for Kasdan given that the film is slated to be released in the U.S. on December 25 this year.

As previously reported, Scott Rosenberg, the writer behind "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Con Air", was tapped to do a rewrite on the script to the 1995 hit remake. Matt Tolmach and Bill Teitler all signed on as the producers. Ted Field and Mike Wevber, meanwhile, will serve as executive producers.

The original movie starring Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst and Bonnie Hunt was adapted from Chris Van Allsburg's children's book which tells a story about two children who play a jungle-oriented board game. They unintentionally release a man trapped in the game for decades. With the supernatural power of the game, they also unleash jungle's creatures into the world.

Although the remake will return to the source material that inspired the 1995 film, it will be reimagined for the present time. Columbia Pictures president Douglas Belgrad previously told the news outlet, "We're going to try and reimagine Jumanji and update it for the present."