“Jumanji: The Next Level” has done pretty well for itself over the past month as it has faced off directly against “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” just kinda chugging along in very workmanlike fashion. Like some kind of blue collar flick holding its own against royalty. It’s no surprise that the Sony film has done well despite the competition — its predecessor did the same thing two years ago against “The Last Jedi.”
This time around, the new “Jumanji” flick got a head start by opening a week ahead of its “Star Wars” competition. It certainly got off to a good start four weeks ago, having taken the box office crown from “Frozen 2” for a week before “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” stormed in to take it back for Disney.
Given the film’s success, it looks like this franchise will be with us for a while. Which begs the question: does “Jumanji: The Next Level” follow in the footsteps of so many franchise movies the past few years by teasing the future of the series with an extra scene during or after the credits? Does this movie have a mid- or post-credits scene?
The answer is yes — there is a bonus scene, which comes fairly early in the credits. There is not, however, anything extra at the very end of the credits.
From this point on, we’re gonna do some spoiler talk. Specifically, we’re going to tell you what’s in the extra scene.
The movie ends with the friends sitting at Nora’s cafe, after they just completed another round in the game. At the beginning of the film, Spencer’s mom, played by Marin Hinkle, says she’s waiting for someone to come repair the heater that of course is broken during the cold winter months. He never shows up — that is, until after the credits have started rolling. And it’s none other than Lamorne Morris, who has worked with director Jake Kasdan on “New Girl.”
He comes to fix the broken heater, and is led into the basement do start the repair. There, he sees the broken game console. He’s an avid gamer, he explains, so he is drawn to the console.
Fade to where the gang is sitting at the cafe, and a stampede of ostriches runs past them. The ostriches were a big part of the game this time around — so needless to say, Morris’ character might’ve reopened the portal once again.
Whether Kasdan is leaving it up to you to decide what happens, or whether this means we can expect a third film (or fourth, should you count the original “Jumanji” starring Robin Williams), is left totally open-ended.
“It felt to me that that gave us both a jumping off point for a cool movie we’d want to see, and also, if that didn’t happen, I would be comfortable with the story ending there,” Kasdan tells TheWrap. “Because once again, while I thought it was worth it to seed an idea, I also thought that it was really important that this movie finish itself, and that we get to the end of the story we’re telling.”
So there you have it, folks. Just stay seated.
“Jumanji: The Next Level” stars Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover and Awkwafina.