Disney’s adventure romp Jungle Cruise looked like the beginning of a new franchise when it launched in 2021, but according to Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, that second voyage may never leave the dock.
The two stars offered an update on the sequel, and it sounds like the studio has quietly stepped away from the idea.
When Entertainment Weekly asked Johnson whether the sequel was still happening, he didn’t dance around it. He simply said, “I don’t think so.”
Johnson explained that the shift happened when Disney updated its leadership team and reevaluated priorities following the pandemic.
As he put it, “I think when Disney came under new leadership, they just shifted coming out of COVID. 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 backed that up with her own take, saying: “They did not want to set sail again, and that’s fine.”
Back in August 2021, not long after Jungle Cruise crossed the $100 million mark domestically, it was reported that a sequel was moving forward. Johnson and Blunt were on board to return to their roles as the charismatic riverboat captain and fearless scientist.
Director Jaume Collet Serra was expected to come back as well. But despite early momentum the whole thing just fizzeled out over time.
Back in 2024, Johnson did say that he would “possibly” return and even added, “Down the line, yeah, I’d wanna do it. Maybe, we’ll see.”
Even as recently as September, during the Los Angeles premiere of The Smashing Machine, both stars joked about wanting to jump back into another Jungle Cruise film. Blunt said, “I feel like we gotta do something else now. I’m like, ‘What else?’”
Then she playfully encouraged Disney directly. “Call Disney. Get us back on that boat,” which Johnson followed by saying, “We’re calling those guys tonight. We had so much fun.”
But fun doesn’t outweigh strategy, and Disney’s new direction appears to have closed the door.
The movie found its audience, but with Disney rethinking its theatrical strategy and trimming back mid range adventure films, it seems Jungle Cruise didn’t make the cut for a follow up.
It’s disappointing news for fans who enjoyed the pulpy adventure energy of Jungle Cruise, especially since Johnson and Blunt clearly had a great time making it and were willing to return. For now, though, it appears the riverboat has docked for good.
