Dwayne Johnson Confirms His Other Disney Franchise Is Officially Dead

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Dwayne Johnson became a major action star thanks to his involvement in successful franchises like Fast & Furious and Jumanji. His charm, combined with well-known movie titles, proved to be a winning formula. After Disney saw success with him in Moana, they gave him a starring role in Jungle Cruise, a live-action movie based on the popular Disney park ride. While there was hope Jungle Cruise would become another long-running franchise for Johnson, those plans have stalled.

Dwayne Johnson recently told Entertainment Weekly that a sequel to Jungle Cruise is no longer in the works. He explained that after Disney’s change in leadership and the impact of COVID-19, the company decided against pursuing another film. Johnson believes Disney felt the first movie was successful enough and wasn’t sure if a second one was necessary, even though he and his co-star had great chemistry.

Why Disney Cancelled Jungle Cruise 2

I really enjoyed Jungle Cruise when it came out in the summer of 2021! It was a fun adventure, and I remember being glad it was available both in theaters and on Disney+ at the time, as things were still pretty uncertain with the pandemic. While it earned a respectable $220.8 million worldwide, it didn’t quite reach the heights of other big movies that summer, like Dune, Shang-Chi, or Godzilla vs. Kong. Those films really broke out, earning much more. But honestly, considering everything that was going on, I thought Jungle Cruise did pretty well, and I had a great time watching it!

Disney may have decided not to make a sequel to Jungle Cruise after its box office results weren’t strong enough, considering the film cost $200 million to produce. Like Jungle Cruise, Disney previously tried to create another big franchise similar to Pirates of the Caribbean by adapting popular theme park rides into movies. However, these attempts havenā€™t generally worked; films like Tomorrowland and Haunted Mansion both failed to attract audiences. While Disney still seems interested in making movies based on its theme park attractionsā€”a Tower of Terror film starring Scarlett Johansson was once plannedā€”there’s a lot to suggest they should stop, except for the upcoming reboot of Pirates of the Caribbean.

It’s a shame Jungle Cruise didn’t get a fair chance in theaters. Of all the movies based on Disney theme park rides (besides Pirates of the Caribbean), it had the best potential to become a long-running adventure series, with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt as a fun, Indiana Jones-style team. Unlike Tomorrowland and Haunted Mansion, which critics didn’t like, Jungle Cruise was generally well-received. While it wasn’t perfect, it was enjoyable and offered a solid base for potential sequels. Unfortunately, because of Disneyā€™s recent box office struggles and the high cost of production, a second Jungle Cruise movie is unlikely to happen unless they could drastically cut costs.

Even though Jungle Cruise is finished, Dwayne Johnson continues to have a good relationship with Disney, largely thanks to the success of the Moana movies. Moana 2, released last year, earned over $1 billion globally, increasing the chances of a third film. Johnson will also return as Maui in the live-action version of the original Moana, which is coming to theaters next summer and is expected to be very popular. With Lilo & Stitch showing there’s still interest in Disney’s live-action remakes, a new version of Moana should also attract a large audience.

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2025-11-21 23:13