From starting his career in WWE, Dwayne Johnson has clearly come a long way to become one of the most sought-after Hollywood actors. Although a lot of people were initially doubtful about his acting capabilities, he has certainly made sure to shut them up over time. Not only that, but he has featured in some of Hollywood’s most popular and highest-grossing franchises that have gone a long way to help amass his massive $800 million fortune.
Dwayne Johnson in Jumanji: The Next Level
For example, his performance in the Jumanji series has been talked about endlessly because of the way it absolutely stunned people. His best friend Kevin Hart’s inputs and their eccentric dynamic surely didn’t hurt. However, what many do not know, is the third sequel of the franchise in 2019 took about four months to make.
This is quite astonishing as most big-budget commercial movies take about a year to finish post-production. What is yet more astonishing was the hefty paycheck he got from just four months of shooting.
Dwayne Johnson’s surprising Jumanji 3 paycheck
The Jumanji franchise was rebooted in 2017 with the sequel Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and Dwayne Johnson immediately became part of the original cast through that. In fact, the movie was such a hit not only because of the nostalgia it sparked among fans who have been waiting for the story to progress since 1995 but also because of just how fun and exciting the movie was.
Dwayne Johnson
Set decades after the first movie, it shows a bunch of teenagers finding Jumanji, now as a videogame, while cleaning their school’s basement for detention. After choosing their Avatars, they immediately get sucked into the world of the game as their Avatars.
These are, obviously, the archeologist explorer Dr. Xander “Smolder” Bravestone played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart’s zoologist Franklin Finbar, cartographer and paleontologist Professor Shelly Oberon played by Jack Black, and Karen Gillan’s martial artist Ruby Roundhouse.
Their connection with each other and the audience grows with each hurdle they cross successfully. This obviously, made it one of the most fun movies to watch at the time, especially with the cast’s marvelous performance. As a result, when the idea of another sequel started floating around, the return of the cast members became unquestionable.
Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan in Jumanji
And so, two years later the big-budget sequel Jumanji: The Next Level was released. Interestingly, though, it only took about four months for the filming to be finished and about another seven for the post-production to round up following the December release. This is quite the feat as movies requiring as much VFX work generally tend to spend years in the post-production phase before seeing their release.
What’s even more interesting is Dwayne Johnson’s pay hike from the first movie’s $19 million to the second movie’s $23.5 million although the latter took only four months to film, and because it grossed significantly less than the first movie. However, given how The Rock had already established himself as one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, it might not be as surprising to some people.
Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart to end their duo
Although the movie was extremely fun to watch, it certainly was an emotional ride for the cast. Especially as it seemed like that might be the end of the franchise at the time. Dwayne Johnson marked the ending of the filming with a beautiful shot of the four main casts walking off into the sunset together, which actually blew up the rumors of the franchise ending at that time.
Dwayne Johnson’s Instagram post after Jumanji: The Next Level
What came as another shock was Kevin Hart‘s interview with Variety earlier this year during the Oscars, where he hinted that his and Johnson’s partnership might finally be coming to an end, at least onscreen. Interestingly, there have also been some rumors floating around about the two falling apart and Johnson calling someone else his best friend during the award event, and Hart’s consequent interview gave rise to them.
Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart in Jumanji: The Next Level
However, thankfully Kevin Hart noted that there’s no truth to those rumors as he mentioned that they are planning a big spectacle to end their onscreen partnership. And that spectacle might very well come in the form of Jumani 4. Hart noted, “We feel like we need something big to put our duo to the end, and not just leave it undone. Something that we could say is our last and final movie.”
Also Read: “He has got a Tit*y Head…that’s F*cked up”: Dwayne Johnson Dreaded What Would Happen Next After Kevin Hart Gave Him an Insulting Nickname
He also mentioned that they have talked about this already and got some interesting ideas floating around. So even though, it might not be fully confirmed yet, fans are expecting this to be the final movie in the Jumanji franchise, especially as he mentioned that they will be doing it quite soon. So even if, it might quite literally be the end of an era, it could very well turn out to be a boon for Jumanji fans.
All three Jumanji movies are available for streaming on Sony LIV, Amazon Prime, and Netflix respectively.
