Back in July, Columbia Pictures President Douglas Belgrad made mention of a possible reboot of Jumanji, an adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's adventure novel that was adapted successfully in 1995 with Robin Williams starring. The film went on to earn more than $260M, and ten years later Jon Favreau directed Zathura, which was a quasi-sequel based on another Allsburg book. Late last summer the project got the green light, and now it's moving forward as a talented writer has come aboard to draft the screenplay.
THR reports that Zach Helm, who won a lot of praise for his Stranger than Fiction script, has been set to pen a modern remake, a reimagining of Allsburg's original story. A fairly light sort of family adventure, it follows a group of kids who discover a mysterious, supernatural board game that springs to life, causing all types of jungle weirdness to occur. Williams starred as a man who had been trapped within the game for years.
Helm has shown a flair for the fantastical throughout his career, having recently made his directorial debut with Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, and recently completing a rewrite on Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
