“Jungle Cruise” Actors Talk About Movie Challenges, Iconic Attraction During Press Conference

Hi everyone!

The “Jungle Cruise” press conference brought together Dwayne Johnson (Frank Wolff); Emily Blunt (Lily Houghton); Jack Whitehall (MacGregor Houghton) and Edgar Ramirez (Aguirre) for a fast-paced press conference filled with quips and camaraderie between the participants. The moderator was Nikki Novak from Fandango.

Dwayne Johnson said yes to the script right away. “…I immediately just saw the potential of the opportunity, and that opportunity was to take a beloved and iconic Disney ride since 1955 when the park opened.” He said there were a lot of elements he was comfortable with to say yes and that he’d come onboard and partner to develop the film.

Whitehall said that there was a “fair amount” of improv.  “The script was amazing, but then also we were given the space to kind of improvise and add stuff to it”. He continued later, “You know, there were probably a few jokes that ended up on the cutting room floor for the right reasons.”

Blunt took a question on what stunt was the hardest in the film. “”The rope swing. The vine swing. For me, it was the most challenging because he would not let me get one straight take in. He pushed it so far every time to try and make me laugh on that vine swing. We shot that all day. ” Johnson also took on the question and answered, “The action with the Conquistadors with Edgar and his partners. That was pretty challenging”.

Whitehall and Johnson were asked about when McGregor comes out, how hard was it for them to get it right. Johnson said that he felt the scene was “exactly what it was, which was two men talking about what they loved and who they loved.”

Blunt had ridden the Disneyland Jungle Cruise attraction just a couple of days prior to the press conference – it was her first time on the iconic ride. “I loved it. I thought it was very whimsical and sweet. And I could see the elements from the ride that have made it into the film.”

Johnson added, ” You know, you go in the park and there’s so much to do in the Disney parks. Then you get on this ride and it’s almost like you can exhale and…really just enjoy the simplicity of the ride. But our movie is anything but…simple. Blunt answered, “Yeah, yeah.” Johnson continued that with all the elements they have, he thinks they delivered.

“Jungle Cruise” opens July 30th, 2021 in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access.