Note: Contains spoilers for Jumanji: The Next Level.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was refreshing in that it actively avoided setting up a sequel when Fridge destroyed the game as the movie's final gag. Though obviously they made one anyway.
However, Jumanji: The Next Level goes for the opposite approach and delivers a credits scene that directly sets up a VERY different sequel, one that could see the franchise go full circle back to the 1995 classic.
The scene happens pretty early on in the credits, so hopefully you didn't miss it, but if you did, here's what happens and needless to say, there will be spoilers.
Largely, The Next Level follows the structure of Welcome to the Jungle, with some added body-swapping antics.
The players, including newcomers Spencer's grandfather Eddie and his former business partner Milo, manage to complete the quest – this time to recover the Falcon Jewel from Jurgen the Brutal – and save Jumanji.
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Milo decides to stay in the game (as Cyclone the horse, naturally) as he's terminally ill, but everyone else leaves to return to the real world and everything goes back to normal.
Well, not exactly everything.
The credits scene revisits Spencer's house as the repairman (played by New Girl's Lamorne Morris) finally shows up, with him heading down into the basement with Spencer's mum (Marin Hinkle).
He is drawn to the broken Jumanji game and goes to touch it as the Jumanji drumbeats begin.
We don't see what happens to him and Spencer's mum, but we cut back to Nora's restaurant – yes, that Nora from the first movie – as a herd of ostriches from the Jumanji game (the same ones we saw earlier in the movie) race past the restaurant.
It seems as though the broken Jumanji game has brought that world into the real world, much like the Jumanji board game did in the very first Jumanji movie. That would be a big step away from Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level as they've predominantly taken place in the game world.
But we can't see a potential sequel solely taking place in the real world as it seemingly rules out Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart and Jack Black appearing, unless their avatars are brought into the real world too.
Director Jake Kasdan told Digital Spy that before The Next Level, he "would never" consider a sequel without them. "I mean, that was a big part of the appeal, to come back with them," he added.
And we'd imagine his position would be the same for any future Jumanji movie. They're a large part of what has made the movies such a hit with audiences, especially with the body-swapping subplot that sees them all play against type.
Perhaps if we do get a sequel to The Next Level, it will feature more real-world elements with the Jumanji game running amok, leaving Spencer and co with little choice but to head back into the game world to fix everything.
At this moment, we don't know, though, and neither does Kasdan. "Not much, no. Not beyond what you can see there [in the credits scene]," he told Digital Spy when asked if he had a plan for the follow-up movie.
He added: "You know, there's hope that if this one is received in such a way, that we're having that conversation [about a sequel]."
With the potential to bring the whole franchise full circle, we really hope they get the chance to do that sequel.
Jumanji: The Next Level is in cinemas now.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
