Making a sequel to a reboot that nobody asked for—but everyone ended up loving—is a high-stakes gamble. When Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle smashed the box office in 2017, the pressure for the follow-up was massive. Honestly, the Jumanji: The Next Level cast had the weirdest job in Hollywood: they weren't just playing characters; they were playing actors playing characters who were pretending to be other people. It sounds like a headache. It probably was.
The movie didn't just bring back the core four. It threw in Danny DeVito and Danny Glover, which, if we’re being real, is the pairing we didn’t know we needed until it happened.
The Core Four and the Art of the Mimic
Dwayne Johnson is usually just "The Rock." In most movies, he’s the hulking hero with a wink and a smile. But in this sequel, he had to channel a cranky, hip-repaired Danny DeVito. Watching a 260-pound man try to embody the frantic, raspy energy of a 4-foot-10 comedy legend is why people paid for the ticket. Johnson's "Smolder" took a backseat to his "Eddie Gilpin" impression. It was a risk. If he played it too straight, it wouldn't be funny; if he went too broad, it would be a caricature. He found a middle ground that felt weirdly sweet.
Then you have Kevin Hart.
Usually, Hart is the high-energy, fast-talking guy who can't stay still. The Next Level forced him to do the exact opposite. Playing Mouse Finbar as the avatar for Danny Glover’s Milo Walker meant Hart had to slow down. Way down. He took on that methodical, slow-burn storytelling pace that drove the rest of the characters crazy. It’s arguably some of the best acting Hart has done because it required such intense restraint. He wasn't just shouting for laughs; he was timing his pauses to match a man who has all the time in the world.
Jack Black is a national treasure. We know this. After spent the first movie playing a teenage girl (Bethany), he spent a good chunk of the sequel playing Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain). Switching from the "popular girl" persona to a frustrated, athletic jock trapped in a "round" body showed his range. Later, when he switched back to Bethany, it felt like a homecoming. Karen Gillan, meanwhile, remained the "straight man" for much of the chaos as Ruby Roundhouse, but her physical comedy during the bridge sequence—balancing Nunchucks and the sheer panic of her teammates' incompetence—is what kept the stakes feeling real.
The New Blood: Awkwafina and the Villains
You can't talk about the Jumanji: The Next Level cast without mentioning Awkwafina. She joined the fray as Ming Fleetfoot, a new avatar with a penchant for pickpocketing. The brilliance here wasn't just her presence; it was her ability to switch "players" mid-movie. At one point, she’s channeling Danny DeVito, and she absolutely nails the specific squint and gravelly tone.
The villain, Jurgen the Brutal, was played by Rory McCann. You probably know him as The Hound from Game of Thrones. He didn't have a lot of complex dialogue, but he brought a physical menace that the first movie’s villain arguably lacked. He was a wall of meat and fur. It worked for what the story needed—a final boss that felt genuinely dangerous.
Why Body Swapping is a Career Nightmare (And a Joy)
Most actors spend their lives trying to find their "center." In this franchise, they have to throw it out the window.
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The complexity of the Jumanji: The Next Level cast performances comes down to layers. Look at Nick Jonas as Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough. He starts off as the avatar for Alex (Colin Hanks), but for a brief moment in the film, he becomes the avatar for Grandpa Eddie. Seeing Nick Jonas try to act like Danny DeVito acting like a tough guy is a "Inception-level" feat of performance.
- Dwayne Johnson: Smolder Bravestone (Avatar) / Eddie Gilpin (Player)
- Kevin Hart: Mouse Finbar (Avatar) / Milo Walker (Player)
- Jack Black: Sheldon Oberon (Avatar) / Fridge & Bethany (Players)
- Karen Gillan: Ruby Roundhouse (Avatar) / Martha (Player)
- Awkwafina: Ming Fleetfoot (Avatar) / Eddie & Spencer (Players)
It’s a revolving door of identities.
The production actually had the "real world" actors—DeVito and Glover—on set quite a bit. This wasn't just for their scenes at the beginning and end. They were there to provide a reference point. The avatar actors would watch them, mimic their gait, and listen to the cadence of their voices. It’s a level of prep work you don’t usually see in a big-budget action-comedy.
The Emotional Core Beneath the Gags
Beyond the slapstick, there’s a surprisingly heavy theme about aging and friendship. Milo and Eddie are two old friends who had a falling out over a diner. That’s a very "real world" problem inserted into a world with giant ostriches and man-eating mandrills.
Danny Glover brings a gravitas that balances out the absurdity. When his character, Milo, decides to stay in the game as the horse (Cyclone), it’s a genuinely touching moment. It tackles the idea of moving on and finding a new kind of freedom when your physical body in the real world is failing you. Most blockbusters skip over that kind of nuance. They just want the explosions. Director Jake Kasdan, however, let the Jumanji: The Next Level cast lean into the sentimentality.
Realism in a Virtual World
It's easy to dismiss the locations as CGI fluff, but the cast actually filmed in some brutal environments. From the freezing heights of Calgary to the scorching deserts of New Mexico, the physical toll was real.
Karen Gillan has often spoken about the "scantily clad" costume choice for Ruby Roundhouse—a play on 90s video game tropes—being particularly difficult when filming in the cold. The cast had to maintain the illusion of being inside a jungle or a desert while actually battling the elements. This physical discomfort often adds a layer of "real" irritability to the characters that fits the narrative of them being trapped in a game they’re tired of playing.
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The "Real World" Players
We can't ignore the kids. Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman are the anchors. Without them, the stakes disappear.
Alex Wolff, in particular, has to play a version of Spencer who is struggling with depression and a lack of confidence after moving to New York. His decision to go back into the broken Jumanji game is the catalyst for the whole plot. It’s a relatable, albeit dangerous, desire to return to a time when you felt powerful and "golden."
Wolff plays it with a twitchy, nervous energy that makes the transition into The Rock’s physique even more jarring. When Spencer eventually gets back into the Bravestone avatar toward the end of the film, you see the visible relief in his posture. It’s a subtle bit of physical acting that ties the whole movie together.
What Most People Miss About the Cast Chemistry
People always talk about the "chemistry" between The Rock and Kevin Hart. It's legendary. They roast each other on Instagram, they do press tours that are funnier than most movies, and they clearly like each other.
But in The Next Level, that chemistry had to be weaponized. They couldn't just be "The Rock and Kevin Hart." They had to be two elderly men who were annoyed with each other. This meant their usual rhythm had to be disrupted. They had to step on each other's lines in a way that felt like an old argument, not a scripted comedy bit.
The ensemble worked because nobody tried to "out-act" the others. Even Jack Black, who can easily dominate any scene he’s in, stepped back to let the DeVito/Glover dynamic shine through Johnson and Hart.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Aspiring Actors
If you're looking at the Jumanji: The Next Level cast as a case study in performance or just want to appreciate the film more on your next rewatch, keep these things in mind:
- Watch the eyes, not the body: When Awkwafina is playing Eddie, she mimics DeVito’s specific "searching" look. It’s a masterclass in observational acting.
- Focus on the pacing: Notice how Kevin Hart deliberately waits an extra two seconds before answering questions. He’s fighting his natural instinct to be fast to honor the character of Milo.
- The "Unspoken" Continuity: Look for the small physical tics that the avatars carry over from the "real world" actors. Martha’s (Karen Gillan) posture is slightly more rigid and unsure when she’s first dropped back into the game, reflecting her character's growth—or lack thereof—between movies.
The movie ends with a mid-credits scene that suggests the game has leaked into the real world. This would flip the script entirely for a potential fourth film. Instead of the cast playing avatars, we might see the avatars interacting with the real world, Enchanted-style.
Whatever happens next, the success of the franchise rests entirely on this specific group's ability to be someone else. They turned a gimmick into a character-driven story about what it means to grow up, grow old, and occasionally turn into a cake-allergic zoologist.
To truly appreciate the work put in, go back and watch a clip of Danny DeVito in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and then immediately watch Dwayne Johnson’s first ten minutes in The Next Level. The shoulder shrug is identical. That’s not just big-budget filmmaking; that’s a group of actors having the absolute time of their lives.
Next time you stream it, pay attention to the background characters, too. The "NPCs" (Non-Player Characters) like Rhys Darby’s Nigel Billingsley have to maintain a perfectly looped, robotic persona that never wavers, no matter how much the main cast improvises. It’s a total team effort that makes the world feel like a glitchy, terrifying, and hilarious simulation.
Action Step: Watch the "Behind the Scenes" features on the physical training for Karen Gillan. Her stunt work involves a mix of dance and martial arts that is significantly more technical than it looks on screen. It highlights the gap between the "awkward Martha" character and the "badass Ruby" avatar.