Jungle Cruise Movie: D23 Behind The Scenes Panel Featured Two Points Of View
Next to Star Wars IX and Indiana Jones V, I am most looking forward to Jungle Cruise featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt.
And now, I am really, really excited to see the two trailers, “cut” by the stars, and presented at D23’s “Behind the Scenes” panel on Saturday.
Jungle Cruise: Two Stars, Two Trailers
In her trailer, @TheRock's name is smaller, and she's the Indiana Jones type seeking truth and knowledge. Oh come on, he says. "The last time I was here I was a demi-god." #D23Expo
— cp 👩🏽💻🏟️ (@misscp) August 24, 2019
Disney revealed footage for the Jungle Cruise movie at D23 Expo 2019, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt in the lead roles for the Adventureland-themed movie.
The footage on display definitely tips a hat to the Disney ride the story is based off of, with the cruise itself having guides like the attraction. The antagonists appear to be similar to those in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, having a kind of supernatural Davy Jones-like appearance.
The movie is based on the Disneyland ride of the same name, and will see The Rock play a boat skipper named Frank who takes Blunt’s character Lily and her brother McGregor — played by British stand-up comedian Jack Whitehall — on a mission to find a tree that has magical healing powers. You may recognize Whitehall from the Good Omens series on Amazon Prime.
The trailer presented by Johnson opens on the winding Amazon river as Johnson’s character, Frank, ominously narrates, “Everything you see wants to kill you, and can.” Frank is giving a jungle cruise tour that is just like the one from the Disney parks, complete with the “backside of water” bit. Cut to a mysterious woman (Blunt) offering him a hefty sum for an adventure which they negotiate, set to clips of high-octane action from the film, including a shot in which Frank saves Blunt’s scientist Lily Houghton by swinging with her on a rope off the boat. The sizzle reel ends with the appearance of a huge snake-like creature. “It’s impossible,” an awestruck Frank says.
Following the trailer, Johnson compared the film to the 1984 romantic comedy-adventure Romancing the Stone, “a movie about a man kicking ass and saving the girl.” But he’s quickly interrupted by Blunt, who presents “the real version of the trailer.”
Blunt’s version opens with Lily narrating, “Legend has it, there is a tree that possesses healing powers.” Lily is more capable in this version of the trailer, having her own swashbuckling fight in a library to retrieve an arrowhead that is key to finding this mystical tree. Lily shows up to recruit Frank, who is reluctant at first, saying “Legend brings curses too.” Frank seems to be on the nose, as the footage shows the jungle coming to life. We see a different version of the swinging off the boat clip, but this time Frank is apparently not the flawless hero he presents himself as — unable to catch himself on the ledge, he stumbles and Lily mocks him.
Pirates and Queens
However the best thing I read about Jungle Cruise was also from Slashfilm:
We can’t wait to see @TheRock and Emily Blunt together in Disney’s @JungleCruise! #JungleCruise pic.twitter.com/xGokGm06ab
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) August 24, 2019
But despite the two differing trailers (neither of which are the actual trailer, according to Bailey), both present a vision of Jungle Cruise which matches Pirates of the Caribbean in tone and feel, with some 1999 The Mummy and Tarzan and Jane thrown in for good measure. Johnson and Blunt display some sparkling chemistry, which they showed off onscreen and onstage. Despite the creative licenses they take with the film, Johnson wanted to assure fans of the original Jungle Cruise experience that the film will “honor the legacy” of the classic ride. Slashfilm
There’s also consistent references to The African Queen – one of the classic movies of all time!
Anyway, there’s no footage to be officially shared as of yet. Keep it here, and we’ll post as soon as we see anything hit the net.