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Jungle Cruise: Cast Talks Revitalizing the Adventure Genre

Published Fri, 30 Jul 2021 15:17:10 -0500

It was fairly obvious from the first trailer that Jungle Cruise was looking to hit a certain tone. During the virtual press conference for the movie, the tone and what kind of genre they were trying to hit came up. The cast was asked about revitalizing the adventure genre, which hasn't seen a lot of entries in recent years. Star Dwayne Johnson replied first about how they were trying to capture the spirit of the films everyone grew up watching.

"It has been immensely rewarding," Johnson said about revitalizing the adventure genre. "To what Emily was talking about, tonally, we just needed to strike a chord that was really well-crafted and that we curated with so much love. And was made in the spirit of the films that we all grew up watching."

Jungle Cruise: Cast Talks Revitalizing the Adventure Genre — (L-R): Emily Blunt, Dwayne Johnson, and director Jaume Collet-Serra on the set of Disney's JUNGLE CRUISE. Photo by Frank Masi. © 2021 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

"And just, I mainline those movies into my veins," Jungle Cruise star Emily Blunt continued. "I just loved Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone, African Queen. Like, they are just joy bombs, and they're nostalgic, and I think we just needed to pierce people's hearts directly with the spirit of those films that we all loved as children. It just took a lot of tempering and beautiful conducting from Jaume [Collet-Serra, director], who was just extraordinarily free-spirited with us in this massive spectacle of a movie. Such a world builder which you need for those adventure movies. You need it. But I know when he and I first met Jaume, we both asked him the same question. And we said, "Well, what do you feel this movie's about?" And I always ask a filmmaker that before I'm about to sign on, 'cause I want to know what the show's about, what the movie's about. And he goes, "You know, it's about love." And it was so perfect, 'cause you could've talked about all the action, the spectacle, and the myths and the legends and all that. But that's when I knew in Jaume we had an innate romantic. and a world builder, and that's what you need for this type of movie."

So far, the reviews for Jungle Cruise have been very positive, and Johnson must have had a good experience with Collet-Serra since he campaigned hard to get him to direct Black Adam. Disney wants another franchise, and so far, the early numbers are looking pretty good too. It's excellent that Johnson and Blunt seem to enjoy this world and this genre because if things go well, Disney is going to lock them in for several sequels very soon.

Inspired by the famous Disneyland theme park ride, Disney's "Jungle Cruise" is an adventure-filled, rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton. Lily travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank's questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila—his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities—possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank and their fate—and mankind's—hangs in the balance.

Jaume Collet-Serra directs the film, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramírez, and Jack Whitehall, with Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti. The producers are John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment; Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia and Dany Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions; and Beau Flynn of Flynn Picture Co., with Scott Sheldon and Doug Merrifield serving as executive producers. The story is by John Norville & Josh Goldstein and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, and the screenplay is by Michael Green and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. Disney's "Jungle Cruise" releases in U.S. theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access on July 30, 2021.