A cast member from the original Jumanji had a cameo in Jumanji: The Next Level. The original 1995 film starred Robin Williams as Alan Parrish and introduced audiences to the often-dangerous game of Jumanji. It became a box office success and a favorite adventure film for a generation. Although no sequel with that cast happened, Sony rebooted the franchise in 2017 with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black.
The 2017 movie turned the board game into a video game and successfully breathed new life into the franchise. While Welcome to the Jungle tells a story that is primarily fresh, it also confirmed that the events of the first movie were canon with an Alan Parrish Easter egg. In the lead up to The Next Level, Johnson teased that the sequel would be even more connected to the original film. Many fans held out hope that Kirsten Dunst or Bonnie Hunt would return to the franchise, but The Next Level features a different cast member from the original film making a return.
The surprise cameo is saved for the end of Jumanji: The Next Level, as Bebe Neuwirth returns as Nora Shepherd. She is the aunt of Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) in the original Jumanji, and bought the Parrish Mansion years after Alan’s disappearance. She intended to turn the mansion into a bed and breakfast, fulfilling her dreams of running an inn, but it is unclear if she ever got the chance after Alan and Sarah reset the timeline. Thankfully, The Next Level shows that Nora got her wish in a different way, as she took over the restaurant founded by Eddie Gilpin (Danny DeVito) and Milo Walker (Danny Glover).
The return of Neuwirth in The Next Level was a welcome late surprise, and allows her to reprise the role almost 25 years after she last played Nora. It also gives the sequel a chance to have some nice comedic moments to close out the film. She appears when Spencer (Alex Wolff) and his grandpa go to Nora’s Restaraunt. Eddie asks if he can help out as he misses the business and she happily welcomes him back into the fold. And, with Eddie channeling some of Dr. Bravestone’s “Smoldering Intensity,” there’s even a possible romantic spark between them now.
Now that Neuwirth has returned to the Jumanji franchise, the question remains whether or not it will happen again. The box office performance of Jumanji: The Next Level has been good early on, and the movie’s ending clearly leaves the door open for a proper sequel. With the game now back in the real world, it could be fun to see Nora re-experience what Jumanji is like. And, since she has returned, Nora could serve as the connection that can organically bring Judy and Peter back to the franchise for Jumanji 4.
