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WIRE Buzz: Jumanji: The Next Level's time jump; Nick shows to CBS All Access; more

By Josh Weiss
Jumanji The Next Level

The game is afoot (again!) next month when Jumanji: The Next Level opens in theaters. A direct sequel to 2017's Welcome to the Jungle, the movie sees the return of the original director and cast along with a few new additions to the roster like Danny DeVito, Awkwafina, and Danny Glover.

By watching a special Q&A conducted with the project's core crew, we learned certain details that have been bugging us. For example, we now know when the movie's plot takes place in relation to its predecessor.

"It's a little less than a year later," said director Jake Kasdan who wrote the sequel's screenplay with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. "It's pretty much a continuation of that story and we're rejoining those kids as they're coming home for Christmas break from the various places they've been — at school, traveling around — and that's where we join our heroes again."

When asked if her time spent as Amy Pond (Doctor Who) and Nebula (Guardians of the Galaxy) helped her prepare fo the role of Ruby Roundhouse, Karen Gillan said:

"The sadist, Nebula, not so much, but the action part of it for sure prepared me for this. Ruby Roundhouse is a demanding physical role, but no, she's pretty different, she's pretty removed from the other characters. Martha [Kaply, played by Morgan Turner] is quite nerdy and socially awkward, so I got to use those parts of my natural personality combined with punching, which is kind of like Nebula."

Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Nick Jonas, Rhys Darby, and Colin Hanks co-star.

Jumanji: The Next Level stampedes into theaters everywhere Friday, Dec. 13.


Apple's adaptation of Lisey's Story (the 2006 novel by Stephen King) has added another major player to its cast in the form of Dane Dehaan (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, A Cure for Wellness), Deadline has confirmed.

The eight-hour miniseries follows Lisey (Julianne Moore), the wife of a celebrated author, Scott (Clive Owen). When Scott passes away, Lisey is forced to deal with several terrifying truths about the past. Dehaan is taking up the role of Jim Dooley, a mega-fan of Scott's (think Annie Wilkes in Misery) who wants to see the writer's unpublished work shared with the world.

Missing media item.

Just last week, Joan Allen was cast in the eight-hour limited series, which is written and executive produced by King himself. J.J. Abrams (11.22.63, Castle Rock) is also producing under his Bad Robot banner.

Allen is playing one of Lisey's sisters.


As part of the impending merger between Viacom and CBS, Nickelodeon content aimed at children will be available to stream on CBS All Access, writes The Hollywood Reporter.

“Bringing children’s programming to CBS All Access is a significant step toward providing even more value for our subscribers, and now for their children as well,” Marc DeBevoise, President and Chief Operating Officer of CBS Interactive, said in a statement to THR. “We’re bringing to market a fantastic roster of exclusive originals along with a library of marquee series for families, and we look forward to continuing to expand our children’s programming offering, especially with the future addition of incredible programming from Nickelodeon.”

Nickelodeon logo

It is highly theorized that shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer are among the most likely candidates to eventually hit the subscription streaming platform that serves as the home for Star Trek: Discovery and Jordan Peele's reboot of The Twilight Zone.

Shows from Boat Rocker Studios and Wildbrain like Cloudy With a Chance of MeatballsDanger Mouse, Bob the Builder, Inspector Gadget, Madeline, Heathcliff, and The Adventures of Paddington Bear are also a part of CBS All Access' children's library, which, according to THR, "is expected to grow to more than 1,000 episodes as additional series are added over the coming weeks." 

CBS gained the streaming rights to the Boat Rocker and WildBrain creations over the summer.

Netflix recently struck a deal with Nickelodeon to produce specials and films based around the kid-oriented network's original programming like The Loud House and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.