On the heels of Disney’s Friday announcement of a wholenew slate of release datesfor 2020 and beyond,Jungle CruisestarDwayne Johnsonhopped on Instagram to share insights on why his action adventure pic co-starringEmily Blunthas been delayed — again.
Thisisn’t the first timeJungle Cruisehas faced a delay, either. But, up until the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic (which has affected every aspect of our daily lives as well as the production on new projects and release dates of upcoming movies and TV shows), it really looked like fans would finally be able to seeJungle Cruiseon June 13, 2025. So, Johnson connected with his followerson Instagramon Friday afternoon, opening up in a brief but insightful video onJungle Cruise’s release date delay to August 21, 2025.
After remarking early on in his video update that “we were very excited about [JungleCruise]; we still are," Johnson went on to share,
“We had some tremendous conversations with ourselves, Seven Bucks [Productions], [and] the Disney leadership team about making sure the parks are fully operational, that Disney cruise lines are fully operational, functional, sailing the oceans [and] delivering the joy to families all around the world as they love doing. But more importantly than that […] it was very important that everyone had emotional confidence not only here in the [United States] but also around the world."
While Johnson doesn’t come out and say it, there are strong implications here about how the Seven Bucksteam and Disney plan to cross-promote the upcoming live-action feature. Considering the movie is based on a Disney theme park ride, it should come as no surprise that plans are likely in place to feature tie-ins to the movie for park-goers. The additional mention of Disney Cruises seems to tease additional cross-promotional intentions. But, it would be wrong to completely overlook the fact that Johnson, the Seven Bucks team, and Disney also just wanted to make sure Disney fans and employees are safe no matter what — which is what truly matters.
On that note, theJungle Cruisestar went a little deeper, explaining what he (and Disney, as his comments indicate) mean by “emotional confidence.” According to Johnson,
“That emotional confidence allows us to get our kids back to school [and] feeling good about that, allows us to get back to work [and] feeling good about that, allows our Disney employees [and] our Disney team members to get back to work, too, and spread that joy and happiness as they love doing and are so proud to do.”
Jungle Cruisewas definitely not the only Disney, Marvel, or 20th Century Studios movies the House of Mouse scheduled new release dates for. 2020releasesMulanandBlack Widowlocked in new release dates in July and November 2020, respectively. Speaking ofBlack Widow,Marvel’s Phase Fourgot a big shake-up, withBlack Widowtaking the release date previously reserved forEternals, thus pushing that feature and all future Phase Four films further down the calendar. Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios' 2020 featuresFree GuyandThe French Dispatchwere also pushed, butWest Side Storyhas held on to its December 2020 release date.
Jungle Cruiseis now scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 23, 2025. Check out Johnson’s complete statement on the decisions behindJungle Cruise’s delay below.
