• Dwayne Johnson appears onstage during the 2016 MTV Movie Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 9, 2016 in Burbank, California.

Dwayne Johnson appears onstage during the 2016 MTV Movie Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 9, 2016 in Burbank, California. (Photo : YouTube/BBL)

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced on Instagram on Friday that he is officially onboard in an upcoming remake of "Jumanji," and has promised fans to offer something "cool and special."

 It's OFFICIAL: Love this script! Big movie news that me and my canine gal Shang are excited to share;) To produce, create and deliver original properties to fans like HBO's #ballers to this summer's #CentralIntelligence is one of the best parts of my job. But to take great properties that are beloved worldwide like #BAYWATCH and #RAMPAGE and have the opportunity reimagine their stories in dope new ways to a whole new generation is truly an honor. It's official. We'll produce and deliver to a whole new generation a title that I love and is one of my all time favs: There's games you play for fun... then there's games that change your life. JUMANJI Working on edging up an already very good script with my @sevenbucksprod team. Up next is meeting with our producer Matt Tolmach and director Jake Kasdan. Shooting starts this fall. Promise to deliver something cool and special.. and not screw the whole damn thing up;). As always I'll keep you posted. Casting this should be fun! #JUMANJI #JungleLife #JustPressStart #SONYPictures

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A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Apr 22, 2016 at 8:36am PDT


The actor's Instagram announcement comes in the wake of reports that Sony Pictures is planning to hire Johnson and Kevin Hart for the remake of the 1995 Robin Williams' adventure classic. It further claimed that the filming of the remake would commence this summer, while it would be released in July 2017, The Verge reported.

In his post, Johnson has corroborated some of these details. He confirmed that the shooting for the movie will commence this fall. Johnson, however, did not make any mention about Hart in his post. Hence, it is still not clear whether the actor will join the cast. Initially, it was said that Hart's hectic schedules could prove to be a major challenge for the production.

The reboot will be directed by Jake Kasdan, while Matt Tolmach will be producing the film, Eonline reported. Johnson is said to be working on the script in association with Seven Bucks Productions, the company he founded. Johnson's post said that the casting is yet to be finalized.

News regarding the "Jumanji" reboot first came into circulation in August 2015 when Sony Pictures announced the titles as well as release dates for its upcoming movies. At that time, Sony stated that the remake of the adventure classic would hit the theaters again in Christmas 2016. However, now the studio has set July 28, 2017, as the new release date.

The original "Jumanji" initially had a lukewarm critical reception, but went on to conquer the box office. Today, "Jumanji" is a "go-to movie" for most parents as well as children. The original movie is among the rare children's movies, which is genuinely scary.

The original "Jumanji" was based on Chris Van Allsburg's book of the same name. Aside from late Williams, the original cast included Bonnie Hunt and a young Kirsten Dunst.

Last August, when Sony first announced its plan to remake the film, the announcement was received with extensive criticism primarily because it came quite soon after Robin Williams' death.

Watch the original "Jumanji" trailer below: