Time will tell if the upcoming “Jumanji” has a prayer with moviegoers, but Dwayne Johnson is doing what he can to get the film off on the right foot.
As production for the movie gets underway in Hawaii, Johnson — who’ll star as Dr. Bravestone in the adventure film — shared footage of himself with co-stars Kevin Hart and Jack Black partaking in a prayer ritual via Instagram on Wednesday.
“Jumanji” director Jake Kasdan and castmate Karen Gillian also took part in the ritual.
“Before we embark our #JUMANJI journey here in Hawaii, we gathered our entire cast (here with me are Jack Black, Kevin Hart, our director Jake Kasdan and Karen Gillian) and crew together as our Hawaiian Kahu (priest) Cordell Keka blesses our film with powerful aloha spirit of laughter, enjoyment and love,” Johnson wrote.
The actor went on to describe the mood created by the blessing as “extremely powerful.”
“I often talk about mana (spirit) with you guys and the mana in this room/in this moment was extremely powerful – it can take your breath away and give you goosebumps like crazy. (I was low key ready to run thru a wall in this moment;),” Johnson continued. “Our Kahu eloquently spoke and reminded us that even though our faces are the ones on screen, it takes an AMAZING CREW OF EVERYONE to make this movie work. And when we get tired from long work hours to always remember the joy, laughter and fun our movie will bring to families around the world.”
That should help to keep the vibes pleasant on set — unlike a spat that Johnson was recently involved in on filming “Fast 8” during which he described some of his male costars as “candy asses.’
Currently slated for a July 2017 release, the upcoming “Jumanji” movie won’t be a reboot of the original 1995 film, which starred Robin Williams, but rather a continuation.
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“Now in two weeks I’ll reunite with ol’ friends Kevin Hart & Jack Black and we have the honor to introduce a whole new generation to the amazing world of #JUMANJI. *(for the record we are NOT making a reboot, but rather a continuation of the awesome JUMANJI story),” Johnson said in an Instagram post last month.