"Jungle Cruise" Stars Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson Say Their Sequel Has Sunk

Stars of the Jungle Cruise film, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, shared on a recent podcast that any sequel hopes they may have had have officially sunk.

What’s Happening: 

• Jungle Cruise stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are currently doing the press tours for another theatrical collaboration they are in, The Smashing Machine, a biographical drama directed by Benny Safdie based on the life of MMA fighter Mark Kerr.
• However, an appearance on The Awardist podcast may have revealed that any hopes of a Jungle Cruise sequel are dead in the water. 
• Podcast host Gerrad Hall asked about a follow up to the film, with both stars responding “I don’t think so.”
• Johnson elaborated, "I think when Disney came under new leadership, they just shifted, coming out of COVID…COVID shifted our business in a lot of ways. I think they looked at that property and thought, we did it once, not sure if we should revisit it again. Despite whether or not our chemistry was great."
• Blunt added that "they did not want to set sail again, and that's fine."

• The original film, based on the Disney Parks attraction of the same name, was a long gestating project at the studio with Johnson attached as early as 2015. The film finally arrived in July of 2021, raking in $220 million worldwide as theaters had just begun to reopen after the COVID-19 global pandemic. Additionally, the film was part of the Disney+ premier access program, where subscribers could pay an extra $30 for access to the film at home. A number that was reportedly included as part of the box office take. 
• Johnson cites leadership making the decision, with current CEO Bob Iger holding that spot from 2005-2020, with former CEO Bob Chapek taking over from 2020-2022, eventually getting ousted and Iger returning to the top spot. 
• Sequel talk began almost immediately after the first film arrived, especially considering the box office numbers were good given the fact that theaters had just begun to reopen. 
• In the original film, we follow wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) as Lily travels from London to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank’s questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila aboard 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.
• You can check out our review of the movie from when it was first released.