Filming begins for Disney's Jungle Cruise movie

July 31, 2018, 5:48 PM · After years of rumors and false starts, production is underway on Disney's movie version of its classic Jungle Cruise theme park ride.

Stars Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson dropped a teaser video via the Disney Studios' Twitter account today.

Disney's clearly going for a romcom vibe in the script by Logan's Michael Green, with references in the teaser to the 1950s The African Queen's Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart and the 1980s Romancing the Stone, with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. Will Blunt and Johnson succeed in sparking that level of on-screen chemistry? How many puns and references from the theme park ride will make it into director Jaume Collet-Serra's film?

We will find out when The Jungle Cruise arrives in theaters in October 2019. If you want to see more of Blunt in the meantime, her Mary Poppins Returns, co-starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, opens in December.

Replies (16)

July 31, 2018 at 6:13 PM

$5 jungle cruise gets a cheap layover when the movie comes out (that Disney fanboys will complain about for ages)

July 31, 2018 at 7:44 PM

The costumes certainly evoke African Queen though I doubt Dwayne will have similar acting chops. He’s just too overwhelming. The script needs to have balance.

July 31, 2018 at 9:02 PM

I was hoping that they would quietly sideline this one. I'm still waiting for the Haunted Mansion movie do over.

July 31, 2018 at 9:02 PM

Anton M is RIGHT!

Dwayne’s “acting chops” do NOT result in BILLIONS OF DOLLARS at the box office OR ratings for HBO!

FACTS DON’T MATTER!!!

August 1, 2018 at 7:48 AM

This will be the single greatest production in the history of the cinema. Period!

August 1, 2018 at 7:49 AM

Waiting to see who will be cast as Trader Sam.

August 1, 2018 at 11:54 AM

Have to admit "adventure down a jungle river" lends itself to a movie better than most Disney attractions so this might work out.

August 1, 2018 at 3:30 PM

Hopefully Disney finds the right tone for the film. I just watched Christopher Robin last night at a preview screening, and it is just all over the place. It has its cute and charming moments, but was mostly glum, dour, and depressing. What should have been a fun and exciting chase scene through downtown London with the lovable, bouncing Tigger sounding off felt more like Bullitt with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. The characters from the Hundred Acre Wood look more like ratty stuffies from your attic than lovable, heart-warming, timeless characters.

I predict that Jungle Cruise will find a way to piggyback off the success of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle to avoid the ignominy of Eddie Murphy's Haunted Mansion or George Clooney's Tomorrowland, but will by no means be successful enough to spawn a series like Pirates.

I'm still waiting for Disney to announce the inevitable Small World movie that digs the earworm so deep into the public consciousness that we're all singing it in our sleep. Also, just for TH, I can't wait for Disney to start spawning off their Disney Springs properties into movies like:

UNIQLO: The Movie where a group of girls shop through the store looking for the perfect outfits for their night on the town at the NBA Experience.

Lego Store: The Movie where Ebbit (since Emmet is property of WB) leads a cast of minifigs through Once Upon a Toy trying to overthrow Kylo Ren, who has the power of the G---illa -lue along with the Force.

Puck, a comedy where Wolfgang Puck learns that guests are sick of eating California pizza and avocados, and has to use molecular gastronomy and slick marketing to get guests to eat in his restaurants.

Everything but Water - Shown only in specially equipped 4-D locations where guests are so soaked at the end that they have no choice but to actually purchase the gaudy, overpriced swimmwear sold by the retailer's pop up shops in the theater lobby.

Under Armour starring Duane Johnson - Featuring his trademarked Brahma bull logo, The Rock and UA CEO Kevin Plank are thrust into the world of corporate espionage attempting to take down the evil powers of Nike and Adidas.

Magicband: D-Tech - A thriller where a group of best friends unlock secret passageways beneath WDW with their rubber bracelets discovering a maniacal plot to control every decision made by guests only to find out that they were also manipulated by Disney in order to expose Universal's even more devious plot to destroy the Happiest Place on Earth.

August 1, 2018 at 4:11 PM

I enjoyed Haunted Mansion and Tomorrowland and am looking forward to seeing Jungle Cruise. The only Disney attraction movie that seemed like a waste of time was the Country Bears.

August 1, 2018 at 4:28 PM

Sigh ... The obsession continues.

August 1, 2018 at 4:51 PM

If the movie results in Disney revising the ride and removing the gross racist stereotypes, I'm all for it. As it stands the ride is an embarrassment.

August 1, 2018 at 5:32 PM

Of course, it is an anonymous person who says something is racist and an embarrassment.

August 2, 2018 at 9:41 AM

Now Thomas, be a gentleman and help the anonymous poster up off the floor.

August 3, 2018 at 9:56 AM

I would much prefer a focus on redoing that 2003 trainwreck about the Haunted Mansion. I believe at one point Guillermo Del Toro was attached to a HM project but I think those days are sadly gone.

August 6, 2018 at 3:46 AM

Different Poster here: I usually post anon because I'm too lazy to log in, but since doing so apparently invalidates anything I have to say, I bothered to actually log in this time in order to post this: Jungle Cruise is shockingly racist. It perpetuates stereotypes about Africans being dirty, uncivilized savages and is so obviously a product of the racist and colonial attitudes of the 1950s it's appalling that it's still standing in an unedited form in 2018. I could write more about it, but before anyone @s me, I request that they read this op-ed piece that covers the topic much better than I ever could:

http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2015/06/09/natives-are-restless-disney-s-jungle-cruise

Here's hoping that the new film will give Disney execs an excuse to address and fix the most offensive ride in any of the parks. Also, there'll probably be a Dwayne Johnson animatronic, because why not?

August 6, 2018 at 8:09 AM

"Here's hoping that the new film will give Disney execs an excuse to address and fix the most offensive ride in any of the parks."

I guess you haven't been on Splash Mountain recently.

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