'Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle' Sequel Will Bring Back Colin Hanks

Add another name to the ever-growing Jumanji 3 cast: Colin Hanks is back, baby.

In 2017's smash hit Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Hanks played the older version of Alex Vreeke, a kid who was sucked into a video game version of Jumanji early in the film. Now we know he'll be back to reprise that same role in this year's sequel.

"I'm not allowed to discuss or confirm or deny anything involving the Jumanji sequel," Hanks explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "With the exception of, I am in it."

That's confirmation of something we've been speculating about for months, ever since it was confirmed that Nick Jonas would also be returning for the new movie. Jonas played the video game avatar version of Alex Vreeke in Welcome to the Jungle, so when we knew for sure he was coming back, it stood to reason that Hanks would also be back. The rest of the cast primarily filmed this sequel in Hawaii, but for anyone wondering if Hanks might appear inside that dense world of the game, the answer is no:

"I got to shoot all my stuff in Atlanta. Since I was one of the characters that existed outside of the game, I don't get the plush, tropical locale."

It's long been my theory that Jumanji 3 will feature the same major actors as the previous film – Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black – playing the same video game characters as the previous movie, but serving as avatars for different characters, which would allow them to switch up their characterizations and give them some variety this time around. If that ends up panning out, it could mean that Colin Hanks could join the returning teenagers to head back into the game, but this time he could end up being represented by a different avatar than Nick Jonas's Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough.

Personally, I hope Hanks, who seemed relatively chilled out as an adult version of the Alex Vreeke character, ends up paired with the avatar of someone like Awkwafina, who's joining this cast as a newbie in a mystery role. I feel like the juxtaposition of their energies would be amusing, and since I didn't really care for Welcome to the Jungle, anything that elevates this movie above its predecessor will be greatly appreciated by this viewer.

Jumanji 3 is set to hit theaters on December 13, 2019.