‘Jumanji 2’ Skimpy Outfit Outcry: Dwayne Johnson Tries To Calm Sexism Storm, Reveals Character Details
Jumanji 2 star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson welcomed their “juniors” to the cast of the upcoming sequel to the 1995 adventure film with an intriguing photo that hints at the plot twist of the flick.
In an Instagram post, Johnson decided to share photos of the rest of the cast of the 2017 Jumanji movie, including Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, and Alex Wolff.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black will be portraying “avatars” inside of the game, which became popular among 90s kids thanks to the late Robin Williams.
Joining them are their “juniors” who would portray the four teens who are placed in detention, but ended up getting sucked into the game.
JUMANJI sequel said to follow 4 teens in detention who get sucked into the game, where they take on new “avatar” forms to locate a jewel.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) September 20, 2016
EW explained that Johnson’s revelation may have something to do with an outcry about Gillan’s skimpy outfit which consists of midriff-baring top, shorts that are shorter than normal, a pair of boots that are calf-high, and fingerless gloves.
An article published in The Mary Sue deemed Gillan’s Jumanji 2character appears to be overtly sexualized based on her outfit alone.
“I’m going to come right out and say it: what’s up with her super sexualized costume? I mean, just take a look at the leather straps/holster crossing over and between her breasts.”
“This Jumanji remake seems to really subscribe to the ‘rule’ that if you have a female character in your ensemble lineup, she’s going to be overly sexualized,” the piece read.
Aside from that, Mary Sue noted how the female Jumanji avatar appears to have a look similar to that of the “old PSX Lara Croft, not the new Tomb Raider Lara Croft.”
In response, Gillan promised that there is a reasonable explanation why her character was given what she dubbed as “child sized clothes,” but did not give away any more details on the issue aside from what she tweeted.
Jumanji! Yes I’m wearing child sized clothes and YES there is a reason! The pay off is worth it, I promise! #Jumanji pic.twitter.com/qBshnhwV6K
— Karen Gillan (@karengillan) September 21, 2016
Slash Film’s theory is that Gillan’s Jumanji outfit was due to her character’s circumstances, which may be similar to what happened Alan Parrish (Williams) in the first movie. They both get sucked into the game with nothing else to wear but what they had on in that very moment.
While it is plausible and there are no reports that state otherwise, that is still quite a stretch considering that Williams’ character in the first Jumanji movie returned to the real world wearing jungle clothing and not his old child clothes.
Aside from that, there is also the idea that Gillan’s character is an “avatar” and not the actual player, which means she could have been a made-up character that came with the game.
The first Jumanji released in 1995 was based on Chris Van Allsburg’s book. However, the new Jumanji movie set to be released on July 28, 2017, aims to continue where the book and first flick left off with a script penned by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg, and Jeff Pinkner.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the new take on the jungle adventure game will be a reverse of the original story where jungle creatures magically appear in the players’ world.
In Jumanji 2, the players are literally sucked into the game where they will take the form of “avatars” like Johnson’s character Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Gillan’s Ruby Roundhouse, Professor Shelly Oberon played by Black, and Hart’s Moose Finbar.
[Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]
